On The Exhale
by myeveryday
Summary: Clark Kent never expected to fall in love with Lois Lane. And he never expected to still be in love with her when Lana had returned. After Chloe's wedding, Clark finds that maybe his love triangle only really has two sides.
1. Prologue: Gone

**Author's Note: Well, here's the AU story that I was talking about. I hope that you all enjoy this. This is my first Smallville multi-chapter fic, so I hope that it's not too terrible. I'll, uh, try not to Lana-bash too much. She's not a terrible person, really—I just hate her relationship with Clark. Please don't hold my dislike of the character against me… At any rate, please enjoy this first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Lois Lane had just been rejected.

Well, maybe that was a bit of an over-exaggeration. But that still didn't change the fact that once Lana Lang had walked into the room, Clark Kent's attention had been completely captivated by her.

And Lois understood that… a little bit, at least. Things between the golden couple had ended rather abruptly and unfairly. All Lois knew was that Lana had torn Clark's heart out over a DVD. Things had been left unresolved between them.

Even so, there was a large part of her that was angry with Clark for just completely forgetting her when Lana walked in. It happened every time Lana's name was even mentioned. Clark just couldn't seem to get a grip on his feelings for the raven-haired girl.

She saw their eyes connect over Chloe's shoulder. Lois felt herself shrinking into the background, and she hated herself for it. But she couldn't help but feel her heart break. So she turned away and went to drown her sorrows in a bottle of champagne.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me."

Lois looked up to find Oliver standing in front of her, his hands deep in his suit pockets. She raised the champagne bottle in greeting before she took another swig.

"Seriously, Lois." Oliver took a seat next to her and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you out here?"

"I could be asking you the same question," Lois quipped. She was clearly avoiding the question, but she didn't really care at this point.

He was one step ahead of her. "I'm out here to find you. Why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding," Lois mumbled into the bottle.

"You're full of crap, Lane," Oliver said affectionately. "You're hiding because of what just happened in there."

Lois didn't say anything. Instead, she just took another sip of the bottle. It had been half empty when she had gotten it; she didn't exactly want to be smashed for her cousin's wedding.

"I've never known Lois Lane to hide away from something."

"Lois Lane isn't good at facing heartbreak."

She didn't have anything to hide from Oliver; it was obvious that he knew how she felt about Clark. She couldn't say that she had exactly been discreet today.

"Lo, Clark needs you," Oliver said he gently. He reached over and covered her hand with his, squeezing comfortingly. "Don't doubt that."

"Yeah," Lois muttered. "But the question is, does he need me like I need him?"

* * *

Oliver gave Lois's hand a reassuring squeeze before he let go and disappeared into the crowd. She couldn't believe that she had let Oliver talk her into doing this. And then he just left her! She was so going to get him back after this.

Even as she was thinking of ways to get revenge on Oliver, Lois's eyes swept the reception area. She couldn't see the tall, broad form of her farm boy anywhere. Nor did she see the petite, raven-haired girl, either. Lois tried not to think too much about what that meant; instead, her attention was caught by the happy couple.

They were beaming at each other as they cut into the cake. Lois found herself wishing that she could find a love like that; a love that made her glow with happiness.

God, she was turning into such a sap.

Even so, she couldn't help but grin at Chloe and Jimmy. They had been through so much already. They definitely deserved their happiness, and she hoped that they would have it easier from now on.

As she was thinking this, there was a distant thud. The floor shook and Chloe and Jimmy stopped in the middle of cutting. They glanced at each other and looked up as the crowd broke out into murmurs. Several people wondered if this was just another Smallville meteorite phenomena; nothing to be too worried about.

But then there was a thud again. And this time, that thud was accompanied by a crash. Then it fell silent for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality it was only a few minutes.

Suddenly, something dark and big crashed through the far wall, sending splintered wood everywhere. The wedding guests screamed and began to dark in every which direction as the monster let out a roar and knocked a few people aside.

Lois's first instinct was to duck and cover. But then she saw that monster slash Jimmy across the chest, and she heard her cousin's screams.

Lois was up and running towards them without even thinking about it. She crouched down next to Jimmy as soon as she got to them, reaching one hand out to touch her cousin's shoulder.

"Chloe—"

The rest of her sentence was choked off in a scream when she felt something tear across her back. The force of the blow from the monster sent her flying into the wall. She landed on her stomach, face pressed into the floor as she felt warm blood begin to pool around her.

She lifted her head just high enough to see that terrible monster—red, gleaming eyes; dark, dark skin; a number of horns—lift Chloe up and run out of the farm.

Then a piece of debris from the destroyed farm hit the back of her head.

And the world went black.

* * *

Clark had finished loading the last of the injured into an ambulance when Oliver joined him in front of the farm. Both men looked disheveled and tired, but neither of them was willing to stop just yet.

"Has there been any sign of Chloe?" Clark asked.

Oliver shook his head sadly. "None," he said. "She's completely disappeared."

Clark cursed under his breath. "And Jimmy?"

They had found Jimmy lying on the floor in the middle of the farm. Blood had been oozing from a severe wound to his chest. It was miracle that the man was still alive, and he had been the first one to get transported to Met Gen.

"The doctor called. They stabilized him, but it's not looking too good."

Clark let out a slow breath and nodded his head. He raked a hand through his messy hair and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that this had happened to Chloe and Jimmy, of all people. And on one of the happiest days of their lives, too. The young couple just couldn't catch a break.

"We have another problem."

Clark's eyes opened. He turned to give Oliver a sharp look. "What?"

Oliver winced and gave Clark an apologetic look. "Lois is missing."

Clark froze. He felt his heart plummet. "_What?_"

"She's not with the guests inside. She didn't go to the hospital. She's completely unaccounted for."

How did he miss this? Clark combed a hand through his hair again. _How?_ He had been watching her all night. How did he lose her in those few minutes? He thought back, remembering the events that had transpired before the attack.

He had been dancing with Chloe, and then he had asked Lois for a dance—

Right. He danced with Lois.

It wasn't so much as asking as it was taking her out onto the dance floor and into his arms. Whatever it was, he remembered that it had felt good. Really good.

And then Lana had walked in.

That, he realized, is when he lost track of Lois. He didn't remember seeing her after that. He had gone up into the loft to talk to Lana, to reminisce over what could have been, and he had still been up there when the monster had first attacked.

All of this was remembered in a split second. As Oliver began to list possible scenarios for where Lois might have ended up, Clark focused his hearing on the heartbeat that he had come to know so well over the past four years.

It was taking him longer than usual to find it, and that meant only one of two of things: she was either too far out of range, or she was…

No. He refused to let himself think that.

Suddenly, he heard. It was faint, but it was there. Without a word to Oliver, he super-sped into the farm, locating the exact place he had heard her heartbeat. To his horror, the sound was coming from under a large piece of the farm wall.

Clark yanked it off and froze at the sight that greeted him.

Her pretty orange bridesmaid dress was now a deep, dark crimson, torn to shreds at the back. Her arms were bruised and battered, and he was sure that her legs had received the same treatment. Her hair was tangled and covering her face. Clark crouched down next to her and gently brushed some of her hair away from her face. He almost wished that he hadn't, for he was greeted with a pale and still face; it was not at all like the lively one that he was used to.

Pushing his horrifying thoughts of 'what-if' away, Clark slid his hand down her neck to find her pulse point. He could hear her heartbeat, weak as it was, steady in his ears, but he had to _feel_ it, too. He had to feel that she was alive.

A minute amount of relief trickled in when he felt it thrum weakly against his fingers. Without moving his hand away, he turned and bellowed over his shoulder, "OLIVER!"

The green archer appeared at his side a moment later; apparently, he had had the same idea. When he caught sight of their friend, lying face down on the ground, he instantly paled.

"Jesus," he whispered.

Clark nodded his head. "Call another ambulance. I don't want to move her, but I'm afraid of how much blood she's lost…"

"Clark…" Oliver cleared his throat. "Clark, you need to super-speed her to the hospital." He looked meaningfully at the hand that was still pressed to her pulse point. "She's been here for too long; I don't know if she can wait for an ambulance."

He didn't need to be told twice. Without another word, Clark lifted Lois up into arms. He was careful not to disturb her back for fear of making her wounds worse, but her dress had been ripped to shreds. He made sure that it was covering her as best it could before he sped away from the farm.

* * *

**Author's Note: I know that it's not great, but it's just the beginning. It's going to get AU from here. Basically, it's what I think should have happened if Lois had remained in Smallville. I hope that you all liked it!**


	2. A Long Wait

**Author's Note: Thank you for the great response to the first chapter! I wasn't too sure about it, so I'm glad that you all liked it. Also, I guess I should mention that Lana didn't get as hurt as severely as she did in Bride. Just a few bumps and bruises; I thought that her little injury was really unnecessary.**

**I guess now would be a good time to point out that I'm not a doctor. So the little diagnosis I do at the beginning for Lois's wounds may not be right at all. Don't hold it against me; I was just kind of winging the doctor thing. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

Clark Kent did not like waiting.

He gripped the edge of the plastic waiting seat as he looked up at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time. It had been two hours since he had arrived at the hospital with Lois in his arms, and they hadn't gotten any update on her condition since she had gone into surgery.

They had, however, gotten an update on Jimmy's condition. His injuries were too severe and they were air-lifting him to Star City. Oliver was currently on the phone, getting the best surgeons in the country for their friend.

Five minutes later, Oliver hung up the phone and made his way over to Clark. He looked down at the hand gripping the chair and raised an eyebrow.

"Clark," he said. When Clark looked up, the green archer gave his hand a pointed look. Clark started and let go of the chair. There was an imprint on the red plastic where his hand had been. His lips formed an 'o' shape as he stood up. The color of the red chair reminded him too much of the blood, anyway.

He didn't think that he had seen so much blood before. He closed his eyes for a moment, but that didn't help block the image of Lois lying in a pool of her own blood. He opened his eyes again just in time to see the doctor walk into the waiting room.

"How is she?" Clark and Oliver asked at the same time.

"Ms. Lane is out of surgery," Dr. Keller explained. "We were able to stop the bleeding, and we closed her wounds up. She's in recovery now."

Clark and Oliver both breathed sighs of relief. Dr. Keller smiled at them and continued.

"Between you and me, I know how Ms. Lane is. I want her resting. I don't want her to pull any crazy stunts that will land her back in the hospital in three days time. The wounds on her back were severe enough as it was without her ripping them open again. And we all know that she's not exactly going to be keen to follow these rules."

Clark knew where the doctor was going with this. "Don't worry, Dr. Keller," he said. "She can stay with me. How long do you want her to take it easy?"

"A month, at least. I want to check up on her after that." Seeming to know what Clark's next question was going to be, Dr. Keller continued, "You can see her in a few minutes."

"Thank you, Dr. Keller." The doctor had probably treated Lois the most over her many visits to the hospital. Clark was pretty sure that it amazed him how much one person could end up in the hospital.

Clark felt like a weight had been lifted off of him, knowing that Lois was going to be okay. Even so, he could feel something twisting in side of him. He didn't want to confront that feeling; he just wanted to see Lois. Before he could, however, Oliver stopped him.

"Are you sure that you want Lois staying at the farm?" Oliver asked bluntly.

"Of course," Clark said. "Why would it be a problem?"

Oliver looked a little exasperated. "Lana," he said simply.

"Oh."

Oliver snorted. "Yeah. Oh."

Clark had talked with Lana once during this whole ordeal, and that was when he had taken her into the house with the other wedding guests. She was probably still at the house, wondering where he was.

"Lois can stay with me, Clark," Oliver said.

"No, that's okay," Clark said quickly. The thought of Lois staying with Oliver made something stir inside of him, and it irked him that Oliver would even suggest it.

"So where is Lana going to stay then, Clark?"

"She can stay at the Talon," Clark said carefully. "They have that extra room, and Chloe wouldn't mind…"

Chloe.

They still hadn't found her yet. Oliver had told Clark that they had every satellite searching for her, but nothing had turned up. They had no idea as to where she possibly could have disappeared to.

Oliver seemed to know what Clark was thinking, because he put his hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her, Clark. We'll find her and we'll get her back to Jimmy."

There was another sore spot. Jimmy wasn't doing that well either, and they honestly didn't know if he was going to make it in time to see Chloe again.

"We're going to fix Jimmy, too. I'm going with him to Star City, just to get him settled in. I'll talk to his doctor's. We will fix this, Clark," Oliver said with as much conviction in his voice as he could possibly manage.

"I know," Clark said. He didn't sound as sure of himself, and he stepped away from Oliver. "I'm going to see Lois."

Oliver nodded his head. "I'll let you know how Jimmy's doing tomorrow."

Clark nodded his head, and both men went in opposite directions; Oliver to the helicopter pad, Clark to Lois's room.

He paused outside of Lois's room. The memory of seeing her, lying in a pool of her own blood, flashed in his mind again. He didn't want to see that again when he walked into the room. Logically, he knew that he wouldn't. But the fear of seeing her looking so close to death made him pause before he entered the room.

But when he did, he just saw that Lois was lying on her back in the hospital bed. Her eyes were closed, and she had dark circles under them. Her skin was also pale, but she was breathing steadily, and Clark felt comforted by that.

He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. He hesitated before he reached for her hand and held it in his own, relishing in the warmth.

And he sat there. Waiting.

* * *

When Lois opened her eyes, the first thing that she registered was the intense pounding in her head.

The second was the stiff bandages that circled her from under her arms to her waist.

The third was Clark's large, warm hand enveloping hers.

His head was resting on the bed at her side; the position couldn't have been very comfortable for him. Even though he was asleep, his hand was tightly holding hers.

Lois couldn't help but wonder about Clark's feelings. She was getting whiplash, honestly. He had completely left her in the dust when Lana had showed up, yet here he was, asleep at the side of her hospital bed.

But she wasn't going to think about that right now, because her head hurt. So instead, she just settled for watching Clark. He had been so tense lately. It was nice to see him so relaxed.

He gave a sudden start, as if he knew that Lois was awake. He sat up but never let go of her hand. His blue eyes were a little unfocused as he rubbed the sleep from them with his free hand. His eyes finally focused on her, and he gave her a sleepy smile.

"Hey," he said.

Lois gave him a half-smile. "Hey."

His eyes fell on her hospital gown, where her bandages were. "How are you feeling?"

"I have an awful headache," she said truthfully. "And my back feels weird."

"It's probably all of the bandages," Clark explained. "You were injured pretty badly."

Lois nodded her head a little before she swallowed. Her mouth had suddenly become dry, and she licked her lips. "What happened back there?"

Clark watched her with sad, blue eyes. "I don't really know," he said softly. "But you and Jimmy—"

Lois gasped and struggled to sit up. When she did, her back pulled painfully, and she felt Clark's gentle hand on her shoulder, pushing her back onto the bed.

"Jimmy!" she managed to get out. "How is he? Is he okay? Where is he? I have to see him—"

"Lois, please." Clark kept his hand on her shoulder, and she couldn't help but notice that he was still holding her hand. "Don't aggravate her injuries."

Lois gave a little huff. "Would you mind telling me what those injuries are?"

Clark's eyebrow shot up. "You don't remember?"

"Clearly, if I'm asking you," Lois quipped. "Now, out with it, Smallville."

His lips quirked up in a half-smile, glad to hear her little nickname for him. "From what Dr. Keller said, you have three gashes extending from your left shoulder to the right side of your waist. He also said that you have a mild concussion."

"That would explain that pounding headache. And I guess that… thing…" She paused, remembering with an inward shudder that terrible monster that had attacked her cousin's wedding. "Was what caused my injuries?"

"It's what injured Jimmy, too."

"What happened to him? Where is he?" At Clark's upset look, Lois closed her eyes. "Please tell me that he's okay, Clark."

"He's… he's not doing too well," Clark admitted. "Oliver went with him to get him situated in Star City. They have to work on him there."

"God." Lois opened her eyes and looked right into Clark's. "How is Chloe taking all of this?"

Clark's look went from upset to down-right devastated in less than a second. Lois felt her stomach drop even more than it already had.

"Clark." She said in a quiet, monotone voice. "Tell me what happened." Lois recognized the look that came over his face; he didn't want to tell her right now; not when she had just woken up in the hospital. "Don't spare me, Clark," she added. "Just tell me."

He still really looked like he didn't want to say anything, but he opened his mouth to tell her anyway. "Chloe disappeared," Clark said quietly. "That… monster took her."

Before she could stop herself, a little sob hiccupped its way past Lois's throat. She pressed her free hand to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she didn't bother to wipe it away. Clark's hand tightened over hers as he reached over and brushed her tears away from her cheek.

"I promise, Lois. We'll get her back. I promise."

Lois sniffled, and more tears rolled down her cheek. "What if we don't?"

Clark didn't have anything to say to that, so he just kept stroking her cheek, and she let him.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for the great response!**


	3. Beginning to Heal

**Author's Note: Thank you for all of the great reviews!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

Lois Lane couldn't believe her ears.

"What do you mean, I'm staying with you?"

Clark winced at the angry, shrill sound of Lois's voice. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and tried to look as sheepish and innocent as possible. He wasn't above trying to use his boyish charm when it came to getting people to forgive him.

He should have known that Lois wasn't going to go for it.

"Don't give me that look," she snapped. "Now tell me exactly how I ended up staying at your house."

"Dr. Keller said that he thought you should have someone watching you—I mean, stay with you. You know. In case you need them," Clark said.

Lois raised an eyebrow. "Right. And did he say why, exactly, he wanted someone to "stay" with me?"

Clark sighed. Well, he had already stuck one foot into his mouth. He might as well go ahead and stick the other one in.

"You get into trouble," Clark said plainly. "He wants you to at least heal before you end up in the hospital again."

Lois pursed her lips, but—surprisingly—she didn't argue. She often got into trouble, and she knew it.

Still.

"I still don't understand why you had to volunteer to be my babysitter, Smallville," she said. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Really?" Clark raised his eyebrow. "Good luck changing those bandages by yourself. And good luck doing things that could tear your stitches open.

He had her, and he knew it. Lois frowned and crossed her arms, trying to hide the wince that that came when her back pulled with the action. She loosened her arms and tried as discreetly as possible to unfold her arms again.

Of course, Clark noticed everything. He looked up at her, one eyebrow arched pointedly. She huffed and tilted her head back against the pillows.

"How long am I staying with you?" she finally asked.

Clark coughed and cleared his throat. "A month," he said behind another cough.

Silence.

And then…

"_WHAT?_"

Clark winced. Even though he was invincible, an angry Lois Lane still wasn't a whole lot of fun to be around.

Lois was practically breathing fire, she was so furious. "Clark, you do realize that you volunteered yourself to watch me for a month? Do you realize how long a month is?"

"Thirty days?"

Lois frowned at him. "Don't be a smart ass, Smallville. Are you really sure that you want me staying with you for a whole month?"

"Yes," Clark answered without hesitation. And he did.

Lois pressed her lips together to keep a smile from forming on her lips. She hated to ruin the warm, sort of fuzzy feeling that had begun to spread in her chest at Clark's admission, but the question had to be asked sooner or later. It was better to ask now and look forward to more warm fuzzies later.

"What about Lana?" Lois asked. "I had imagined that she would be staying with you."

Clark shrugged his shoulders and shifted on his chair, suddenly uncomfortable with the direction that the conversation had taken. "I gave her the extra key to Chloe and Jimmy's place. They have an extra room, so I kind of figured… I mean, she used to live there, anyway, so…"

Lois nodded her head and didn't bother to ask any more questions. She didn't want to, anyway. Instead she shifted slightly on the bed and ran her fingers over her stomach, over the hard bandages under her hospital gown.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing her movements. His blue eyes were once again filled with concern, and Lois looked away.

"Yeah." She shifted again, trying to get used to the feel of the stiff bandages. "The feeling will just take a little getting used to."

"Do you need anything? Do you want me to get Dr. Keller? I can—"

"Smallville, it's fine," Lois interrupted—maybe little harsher then she intended. "It's fine," she repeated.

Clark nodded his head and relaxed back into his chair, not realizing that he had almost jumped out of it. He folded his hands on his lap as Lois resolutely looked up at the ceiling. Suddenly, she asked, "Where's Ollie?"

"He's with Jimmy in Star City," Clark answered.

Lois suddenly grew quiet. "Any news about Chloe?"

Clark shook his head. His hand twitched in his lap, as if he wanted to reach over and take Lois's hand. "You would be the first to know," he said.

Lois swallowed hard and blinked a few times, returning her eyes to the ceiling as she did so. Clark opened his mouth to say something else, but he was cut off as the door to the room opened and Dr. Keller stepped in.

He smiled at his young patient as he flipped through the clipboard. "Well, Miss Lane," he said. "I hear that you're getting discharged today."

Lois managed a tight smile at the doctor. "Yup," she said. "I'm getting discharged right into Smallville's capable hands." Her last words had a little bit of a bitter tone to them, and Clark couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face.

The doctor looked over at Clark. "Off the record, I hope that you know what you're getting yourself into," he said.

Lois's mouth dropped open. "Hey!"

* * *

Clark unlocked the door to the house. He stepped aside and waited for Lois to pass by him. The stubborn reporter was shuffling by him, doing her best to make it to the sofa without any assistance.

"Are you sure that you don't need any help?" Clark asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

And Lois said so. "For the hundredth time, Clark, no. I don't need any help." She patted his chest with one hand as she shuffled past him. "You're sweet for offering, though, Smallville."

Clark smiled at his nickname and closed the door behind him. He watched with a half-amused, half-concerned look on his face as he watched Lois slowly make her way to the couch. She finally reached it and sat down, the look of relief on her face blatantly obvious as she settled back.

"Do you want anything?" Clark asked.

"Yeah," Lois replied. "A shot of something really strong."

Clark chuckled as he made his way towards the kitchen. "I'm pretty sure the doctor said that that wasn't allowed."  
"He doesn't have to know," Lois grumbled as she turned the television on.

"How about a cup of tea?" Clark asked.

"You can make tea?"

"Always that tone of surprise." Clark opened a cabinet and rifled through it, looking for the packets of tea his mother had kept in the back. However, a voice stopped him and made his tense in defense.

"Clark! You're back!"

He whipped around to find Lana standing in the kitchen, looking quite comfortable in a pair of sweatpants and an old Smallville High t-shirt. Her short raven hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was holding a mug of her own. Clark looked down at the counter and saw that the canister of tea packets had been relocated there.

"Lana," Clark said. "Hi."

"Smallville, are you talking to yourself again?" Lois called from the living room.

Lana looked at Clark. "Oh," she said. "Lois is here?"

She must have spoken loud enough for Lois to hear, because of a few moments later, an irritated response of "Obviously," came from the living room.

Clark and Lana stepped back into the living room and looked at Lois, who had muted the volume on the television. She looked even worse then she had when they left the hospital, if that was possible.

Lana cleared her throat. "I was just… I was just house-sitting," she said. "I was just waiting, in case, you know… someone showed up."

Lois refrained from pointing out that no one asked her to.

Instead, the brunette looked at Clark's empty hands. "I thought you were making tea," she snapped.

Clark jumped. "Right." He rushed back into the kitchen, and, using his super speed, quickly assembled a mug with water in it. He used his heat vision to boil the water, and then he dropped the tea packet into it. He grabbed some sugar and honey, mixed it in, and brought it back out to Lois.

"Careful," he advised. "It's still hot."

Lois looked up at him over the rim of the mug, ignoring his warning. "How did you heat it up so quickly?"

Clark cleared his throat. "Uh… microwave," he muttered.

Lois raised an eyebrow at him but didn't question it as she took a sip of her tea. For the first time since seeing Lana, she gave Clark a smile.

"You made it just the way I like it," she said.

Clark smiled back at her, glade to see that he could make her feel at least a little better. Next to him, Lana shifted and slipped her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants.

"Clark," she said, effectively ending the moment. "Can I have the key to the apartment? I might as well head there now."

"Oh. Sure." Clark dug in his pockets for his keys. He slid off the copy that Chloe had made him and handed it to Lana. Her fingers closed around his and squeezed before she let them go.

"Bye Lois. I hope that you feel better." Lois nodded her head but didn't say anything else. Lana turned to Clark, her eyes trying to communicate something to him. Clark purposefully didn't look into them, almost afraid of what he might find. "Bye Clark."

But as she was leaving, Clark could only think one thing.

He didn't know how Lana liked her tea.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's been over two months since I've updated! I guess this was a little bit of a filler chapter, but don't worry—everything will really be starting next chapter. I have to re-watch those episodes… Anyway, I hope that you all liked this chapter!**


	4. The Legion Code

**Author's Note: As always, thank you for the amazing reviews. I'm sorry that I haven't update in a while. Although, now we're getting into the action. I really don't want to watch these episodes… but I have to, and… ugh. It's a good thing that this is a Clois story. I can assure you all of that. **

**Also, a lot of this will seem like it's directly from the episode… and that's because it is. I couldn't really think of any other way to introduce the Legion, so I'm sorry if this is a little boring. It'll be different, I promise. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

* * *

Clark Kent was angry.

He stood in the middle of the destroyed farm late at night, wondering how the happiest day of someone's life could be ripped to shreds in mere seconds. The worst part was, he was still no closer to finding Chloe then he had been two days ago.

With his arms crossed, he surveyed the damage. Even he was too tired to begin to clean the wreckage, and he debated calling Oliver once again, just to check up on Jimmy and to see if his satellites had picked anything up.

Suddenly, a bright light caught his attention. Frowning, Clark turned to find a large man encased in metal, with an axe in his hand.

Clark frowned. "What the hell…?"

He jumped as the man brought his axe down into the floor, causing several pieces of splintered wood to fly across the room. Using his super speed, he ran behind the man.

"Who are you?" he demanded, already fed up. Too much had happened in the last few days, and he was not about to deal with someone else trying to destroy his life or the lives of those around him.

With reflexes almost as fast as Clark's, the man swung his axe around. Clark, confident in his abilities, just stood there, ready to rip it out of his hands. But the young man received the shook of his life when the axe buried deep into his side. The force of the blow caused Clark to fly across the room, and he landed on the ground, groaning painfully.

His hand gripped his blood-stained t-shirt as the man with the axe stomped over to him. He rolled Clark over with the toe of his boot before he brought the boot down on his chest. Clark winced as the new wound in his side pulled. Well, damn. That really hurt.

The man swung the axe and prepared to bring it down on Clark again, but it suddenly glowed yellow and stopped. It flew from the man's hand and into another man's grasp.

Clark frowned once again. What the hell was going on?"

The newcomer, clad in a black jacket, smiled. "I'll take that," he said.

Axe-man suddenly tensed, and Clark looked up to see a girl in a red jacket with her fingers pressed above her eyes, staring intensely at the armored-colored man. A boy in blue arrived and shot a bolt of electricity at axe-man, causing him to fly into an already-destroyed wall of the barn. The man in the black jacket leaned down and removed a ring from axe-man's left hand.

As soon as that happened, there was another flash of blue-purple light, and axe-man disappeared. Clark sat up, a hand clutching at his new wound. After a long moment, he staggered to his feet.

"Alright. A lot has happened in the past couple of days, so you'll have to bear with me. Who are you, and what's going on?"

The man in the black jacket smiled reassuringly at him. "Kal-el," he said. "It is an absolute honor, and a privilege."

Clark's brow furrowed as he stood, still tense with defense. "How do you know that name?"

The girl in the red jacket matched the man in the black jacket's smile. "We're the Legion."

Yeah. Like Clark was supposed to know what that meant.

"We're from the thirty-first century," black-jacket explained.

The one in the blue jacket gave Clark a boyish, excited grin. "Hey, Kal," he said. "Where's your cape?"

Now Clark's brain truly did hurt. "Cape?"

Black-jacket sent blue-jacket a sharp look. "Garth," he said, a warning in his voice.

Red-jacket stepped forward, intent on drawing attention away from her two companions. "That axe could split an atom," she said. "You're wound will heal, but not as fast as it normally would."

"He'll be fine, Imra," black-jacket said.

Clark shook his head. "How do I know that you're actually from the thirty-first century?" he questioned, still trying to keep up.

Blue-jacket—Garth—beamed at him. "Because we know everything about you!" Like that would really reassure Clark. His hands gestured wildly with his excitement. "You may be known as Clark Kent now, but one day you'll be known as S—"

"Garth!" black-jacket exclaimed. He shook his head as he pushed the younger man away. "It honestly doesn't matter if you believe us or not. The less you know, the better."

"There's one thing we can tell you," Imra said with a kind smile. "We're your friends."

"We're also leaving," black-jacket added. "Right now. Garth?"

But the younger man had gone off into the farm, picking his way through the wreckage. "No. Way!" he exclaimed as he lifted Clark's old lettermen jacket form a pile of rubble. "I saw this in a museum. And now I get to _touch _it!"

"Put that back, Garth!" black-jacket yelled.

But nothing he could say could deter Garth's enthusiasm. "Get the stick out of your ass, Rokk," Garth said. "I mean, this is… this is history. This is so cool!"

Rokk shook his head. "You know the code," he said. "Don't. Touch. Anything."

"I'm not five years old," Garth said.

"Could've fooled me," Rokk muttered.

Frowning, Garth dropped the lettermen jacket back on the ground. Clark rubbed his temples with his fingertips. At least his wound was beginning to heal.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asked in as calm a voice as he could manage.

"We're here to save you," Rokk said. "And now that you're safe, we're going to leave."

"Not until you tell me who the axe-wielding psycho was," Clark said. He was quickly getting fed up with this three mystery visitors after everything that had happened in the past few days.

"It's against Legion code," Rokk said.

Clark had gone from confused to furious in nearly two seconds. He was tired of people telling him what he could and couldn't do.

"I don't care about your damn code!" Clark yelled. "And I don't care about your Legion." He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "That's the second attack on my farm in two days. My best friend is missing. I need to find her. If you're really from the future…" He shook his head. "If you know anything, tell me."

Rokk paused for a long moment before he said, "The guy with the axe goes by the name Persuader. He's part of the Human Supremacist Movement."

"A group of xenophobes who would rather die than live in peace with aliens," Garth explained dejectedly. "And… they all pretty much hate you."

Clark shook his head again. Live in peace with aliens? Maybe they really were from the thirty-first century.

Rokk held up his hand, showing Clark a gold ring with a little 'L' engraved on it. "He stole of our Legion rings and broke into the Time Institute to come after you."

"What would a thirty-first century terrorist want with me?" Clark asked.

"You?" Garth was smiling again. "Dude, you're the reason why aliens get to live on Earth. It because of you that humans welcome aliens with open arms!"

Rokk nodded his head. He was clearly conflicted with how much they should share with Clark, but he spoke anyway. "You're influence reaches far beyond Earth."

Clark blinked at them. This was way too much to handle in one night.

"What… what do you know about aliens?" was all he could manage.

"Clark, I know I'm as good look as any human," Garth said. "But I'm actually from a mud planet called Wyneth. Rokk and Imra are from different planets, too."

A voice in Clark's head—literally—began to speak. "_We've come from across the universe to form the Legion. We have the same goals with you do. Without you, none of this is possible._"

It was Imra who had been speaking in his mind. She smiled at him and nodded her head to let him know that he was right.

"And now, we have to say goodbye," she said out loud.

"Wait," Rokk said. "We're not going anywhere."

He bent low and retrieved something from among the rubble. Lifting it up, he held it under the light.

"This is the Phantom Zone crystal. I know my history. This was supposed to be used to extract Brainiac from whomever he possessed.

Imra's eyes widened. "He didn't come to kill Kal-el… he came to get rid of the crystal. He came to make sure that Brainiac survived."

"Brainiac is dead," Clark said, glad that he could be at least confident in that. "He was destroyed."

"No," Rokk said as he turned the destroyed crystal in his hands. "No, he's not. Not yet, anyway."

"What do you mean, not yet?" Clark demanded.

"I mean, not yet," Rokk repeated. "And that's all I can tell you."

Before Clark could angrily demand an explanation from Rokk, a voice from the doorway interrupted them.

"Clark?"

They all turned to find Lois leaning against the farm door, her arms wrapped around her to protect her from the cool night air. She stepped further into the farm, her eyes darting to the three newcomers before they returned back to Clark.

"I heard a lot of noise coming from here—Oh my God. Clark, what happened?"

Clark followed Lois's gaze to his bloodstained shirt. He winced as he tried to figure out a way to explain the wound that had already begun to heal.

Clearing his throat, Clark explained, "The night of Chloe's wedding… It's just a scratch. It opened up again. It's really not as bad as it looks."

Lois raised an eyebrow at his lame excuse, but she said nothing else. Clark, whenever he got injured, had always been quick to heal. Instead, she turned to Rokk, Imra, and Garth.

"Who are you?" she asked instead. "And what are you doing here so late at night?"

Once again, Clark had to search for an explanation. Thankfully, Imra came to his rescue.

"We're here to help you find Chloe Sullivan."

* * *

**Author's Note: Ugh, I know it was boring, but I'll do my best. I hope that you all at least enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Unanswered Questions

**Author's Note: Thank you for the amazing reviews! I'm glad that you didn't find the last chapter to be too boring. In this chapter, I'm just kind of guessing on their ages, so don't hold it against me if I get it wrong!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Lois Lane was beyond confused.

It appeared she wasn't the only one. Garth's gaze darted between Imra and Clark, his brow furrowed.

"Chloe Sullivan? Who's Chlo—"

"Garth," Rokk said.

"You are?" Lois asked, ignoring the young man. "But how… How do you know Chloe? Who are you?"

"My name is Imra," the blonde woman said with another reassuring smile, this one aimed at Lois. "These are my friends, Rokk and Garth." She glanced over at Clark. "We know that Chloe is missing, and Oliver sent us to help you find him."

Clark breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the Imra's telepathy was coming in handy. He looked over at Lois and saw that her eyes had gone glassy at the mention of her cousin.

"Can you really find her?" she asked, her voice quiet. "Do you really know where she might be?"

"Maybe," Imra said, obviously choosing her words carefully. "We're going to do everything that we can."

"Lois, we should head inside," Clark said. He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's late, and you really shouldn't be moving around with your injury—"

"Oh, it's fine," Lois said as she shrugged his hand away. Rokk was actually wearing a small smile on his face as he watched Lois and Clark, and Garth, once again, had that excited little-boy look on his face.

"Holy crap, it's Lois Lane!" Garth exclaimed. Rokk gave him a look that clearly said, _'you just noticed that?'_ Garth just shrugged his shoulders and beamed at Lois.

Lois's brow furrowed and she looked at Clark, who just shrugged his shoulders. So far, things appeared to be working out, but he really didn't know how he was going to explain Chloe's disappearance to Lois.

"Have you… read my articles?" Lois finally asked.

"Of course I've read your articles!" Garth said. "They're revolutionary. They're—"

"Garth," Rokk said once again.

Garth gave them a sheepish smile. "Right. Sorry."

Lois nodded her head (after all, she had spent the past four years around people in Smallville. She was used to weird people) and tried to hide a yawn, but Clark saw it. He gently took her arm and began to steer her back towards the house.

"Come on. You're going back to bed," he said.

"Clark," Lois stated.

"Lois," Clark returned. Was it too much to hope that she would just agree with him for once?

Apparently, it was. "Clark, I'm fine. And besides, if you're going to find Chloe, I'm going to insist that I go with you."

"No," Clark said firmly. "The doctor said that you needed to _rest_. And the last thing you need is to open those wounds again."

He looked over his shoulder and gestured for Rokk, Imra, and Garth to follow him. They followed quietly, all of them exchanging knowing looks with each other.

"Do you need anything?" Clark asked as they entered the house. Looking at the clock on the wall, he added, "You still have a few hours until you need another dose of the pain medication, but is there anything else that you need?"

Lois gave him a small smile. "No, I'm okay," she said. She gave Rokk, Imra, and Garth one last curious look before she headed towards the stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night," Clark said.

They all waited until they heard Lois close the door to Clark's bedroom behind her.

"Okay, who is Chloe Sullivan?" Rokk asked immediately.

Clark's brow furrowed. "She's my best friend. If you guys are from the future, wouldn't you know about her?"

Rokk, Imra, and Garth all exchanged looks with each other. "Not necessarily," Imra finally said.

"What do you mean, not necessarily?" Clark demanded. He really hated this whole future thing. It really messed with his head, and he couldn't figure it out.

Rokk shrugged his shoulders. "Something might have happened to her. At any rate, she's not in the history books."

Clark dragged a hand through his hair. "You know, this really makes my head hurt."

"So…" Garth looked around, as if he was hoping the answer would just appear out of thin air. "Why is Chloe Sullivan so important to our mission right now?"

"Chloe has been involved with Brainiac before," Imra said, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Yes…" Clark said slowly, almost as if he were afraid of what they were going to say next.

"Maybe that's why we've never heard about her," Rokk said.

"Yes," Imra agreed.

"Are they always like this?" Clark asked Garth, thoroughly annoyed with this telepathy thing. Why could they just _tell_ him what was going on? He wasn't asking for much… he just wanted to know about Chloe. He just wanted to know why no one knew about her.

"Since the weapon that you once used to destroy Brainiac is now gone, the only way to completely destroy Brainiac is to… destroy the person that Brainiac has infected," Rokk explained carefully.

"What are you saying?" Clark demanded, his voice dangerously low. His fingers were gripping his countertop, and he was taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

"We're just saying," Imra said, laying a soothing hand on his arm. "If the time comes… maybe you have to think about who you need to sacrifice in order to destroy Brainiac."

Clark's hand ripped through the countertop, and he jerked away from Imra. His voice shot up in volume, making the room shake around them. "I am not sacrificing _anyone_—especially Chloe—for _anything_!" he thundered. "There is _always_ a way!"

The four people—these people, with their extraordinary powers—stared each other down, at an impasse. Clark's breathing was shallow, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Clark?"

All four of them froze as Lois's voice reached them from the doorway. Imra's voice crept its way into his head, asking, "_You haven't told her yet?_"

Clark shook his head ever so slightly as he stepped towards Lois, his eyes locking with hers. Her brow was furrowed in concern as she looked between the four people standing in the Kent kitchen.

"Lois, are you okay? Do you need anything?" Clark asked once again.

Lois resisted the urge to roll her eyes, as there were much more serious things going on right now. "I'm fine," she said quickly. "I think the question is, are you okay? I heard a lot of yelling down here."

"We're sorry, Lois," Rokk said, authority in his voice. "You can go back to bed. We'll be quieter, I promise."

Lois gave him an incredulous look. "Look, _Rokk_. I'll go to bed when I want to go to bed. Smallville can't get me to go to bed, so what makes you think that you can?"

Rokk blinked at her, clearly not used to being defied. Clark had to suppress a laugh for a moment before he walked across the room, putting a hand on the small of Lois's back, just below her bandages.

"Maybe it's a good idea for us to go to bed," Clark said. "You three can sleep down here tonight. There are extra blankets and pillows over in that closet. We'll talk more in the morning."

Then, without leaving any room for argument, he gently guided Lois up the stairs, following her up. Once they got to the top of the stairs, Lois turned to him, trying to hide another yawn.

She didn't give him a chance to call her out on how tired she was once again when she said, "So, Smallville. Where are you sleeping, since you gave the couch up?"

Clark blinked. Well, he hadn't really thought that one out. "Oh. Uh…" He looked down the hall, where his parent's bedroom was, and made a face. He just… didn't really want to sleep in their bed. Ti was weird.

"I guess I'll just… sleep on the floor in my room?" He asked it as a question, just to make sure that Lois would be okay with it. Right now, he really didn't want to see any more of the three from the Legion. He also didn't want to sleep in his parents' room. Even though the farm was his now, it still felt as if the master room was his parents room.

Besides, they were twenty-three. They could handle sleeping in the same room.

"Of course you can sleep on the floor, Smallville. It's your room, why wouldn't you be able to?" Lois said as she disappeared into his room.

"If it's my room, then why don't I get my bed?" Clark mumbled under his breath.

"Because it's the gentlemanly thing to do!" Lois called.

Sometimes, Clark wondered if Lois had super-hearing.

* * *

Lois stared up the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. It wasn't because her back hurt, although she had to admit that the bandages were still uncomfortable.

No, her mind was stuck on the conversation she had overheard earlier that night.

When she had heard the raised voices, she had crept down the stairs, stopping just outside the kitchen. She was surprised that Clark hadn't caught, since he always seemed to do just that.

Lois was glad that he hadn't, though. For once, it gave her some insight, though she still had more questions than answers.

She twisted Clark's worn plaid sheets between her fingers, her mind racing with all of her unanswered questions.

Who was Brainiac?

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	6. The Right Thing

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update! I got a lovely virus on my laptop and it deleted all of my files. Fun. As always, thank you for the amazing reviews, and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Lois Lane was supremely annoyed.

She tapped the return key on her cousin's laptop, bringing it back to the username and password page. She knew Chloe's username, but her password was proving to be a mystery.

Lois muttered a curse under her breath. As a kid she had always been able to crack Chloe's passwords. Now, however, Chloe had put firewalls and a password so difficult to crack in place, Lois was considering chucking the laptop at the wall.

She settled for slamming her fist on the keyboard and watched as the laptop shut off. She could feel a frustrated yell building up in her throat, but it was cut off abruptly as a voice behind her asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

Lois jumped and turned to find Clark standing in the doorway of Chloe's bedroom. "Jeez, Clark!" Lois exclaimed. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Lois, what do you think you're doing?" Clark repeated as he stepped further into the bedroom.

"Uh… nothing," Lois said. She shoved the laptop behind her and folded her hands on her lap, making her eyes go as wide as she could. "I just… Chloe had some pictures on her laptop that she wanted me to print."

She couldn't very well tell Clark that she was trying to find out information about Brainiac. There was a reason that Clark wouldn't tell her what was going on. It was probably some misguided attempt on Clark's part to play hero, but Lois didn't care about the details. She just wanted to make sure that her cousin was okay, and get her to where she belonged: at Jimmy's side.

Clark raised an eyebrow. "At three o'clock in the morning?"

Lois shrugged her shoulders, somehow managing to remain nonchalant. "It seemed like the right time."

"You could have woken Lana up," Clark added.

Lois rolled her eyes and stood up. "God forbid," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing." She grabbed her jacket and jammed one arm through it. She twisted to the other side, trying to get her other arm into her jacket, but her back pulled painfully. She inhaled sharply. The pain medication had worn off hours ago, and she had been trying to ignore the discomfort ever since she had sunk out of the farm.

Clark's face softened and he was at her side in an instant, helping her into her jacket. Lois didn't bother to argue, since she was tired. She also knew that Clark was likely to have a complex.

Lois glanced around the room one last time. There had to be something—anything—that would give her a clue as to where Chloe was. But there was nothing. The only person that seemed to know anything was Clark, and he wasn't about to tell her a single thing.

"Lois," Clark said softly.

She turned towards him, looking into those smoky blue eyes—those eyes that held so much concern. For her. Lois inhaled sharply, feeling the tears that should have come two nights ago suddenly burning in her eyes.

"Clark, promise me that we'll find her," Lois whispered. "Promise me that she'll be okay."

Clark looked down at Lois, wishing that he could give her the answer that she was looking for. Wishing that he could reassure her without feeling guilty.

Instead, he reached out and squeezed her hand. And lied.

"Of course, Lois," he said as he squeezed her hand. "Chloe is going to be fine. I promise."

* * *

"Lana. We need your help."

Lana looked up to find a blonde woman in a red leather jacket standing in front of her. The raven-haired woman's brow furrowed. She hadn't told anyone where she was going today—not even Clark. How had this woman known where to find her, let alone ask her for her help?

"Who are you?" Lana asked as she came out from behind her computer monitor. She was currently at the Isis Foundation. She had a search going for Chloe at the same time she had a search going for something else… something she had originally come for.

"My name is Imra," the blonde woman said. "And I'm from the future."

Ah. So this was one of the three that Clark had briefly told her about. She had spoken to him for a few moments on the phone last night. She had called just to check in, but Clark had seemed distracted.

Lana turned her attention back to Imra. "What can I do for you?"

"Brainiac has taken over Chloe," Imra explained. "Again. We need to know that Clark is going to do whatever is necessary to make sure that Brainiac doesn't gain any power."

Lana put her hands on her hips. "When you say whatever is necessary, do you mean…"

"Yes," Imra said without hesitation. "It's the only way to defeat Brainiac."

Lana shook her head. "What you're asking me to do… I can't. Chloe is my friend. I could never… No. And Clark… If you respect him as much as you say that you do… you would never ask him to do that. You would know that he could never do that."

Imra pressed her lips together. "I know why you're here, Lana," she said. "Why you're really here, I mean."

Lana's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to blackmail me?"

Imra shook her head. "No. I'm just saying… Maybe Clark doesn't mean as much to you as you think he does."

And with that, she left Lana with her thoughts.

* * *

Lois stood in the middle of the farm, surveying what had once been her cousin's wedding reception. She hadn't been inside of the farm since it had been attacked.

Clark obviously hadn't had the chance to clean it up yet. She closed her eyes, trying to remember how happy she had been.

When she opened her eyes, Rokk was standing in front of her. She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

But Rokk just smiled at her, looking like he knew something that she didn't know. He probably did, anyway.

"I wanted to ask you a question, actually," Rokk said. He sat on one of the destroyed steps of the farm and looked around before he said, "Would you call Clark a hero?"

Lois studied Rokk carefully. He seemed to be serious in his question, and Lois found herself actually wanting to give him a serious answer.

"Yeah," she finally said quietly. "Yeah, I do. But if you tell him that, I'll maim you."

Rokk held his hands up and chuckled. "I believe you. But I have another question for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you think that Clark would do whatever it takes to save someone, then?"

"I think that Clark would whatever he felt was necessary. And I know that it would be the right thing." Lois gave Rokk a sharp look. "Why do you ask?"

"Clark may have to do something… Something that he isn't comfortable with. But I assure you, Lois. It would be the right thing." Rokk shrugged his shoulders. "He may just need some convincing to do it."

"Do what? Rokk, you better tell me what's going on," Lois said. She really didn't like where this conversation was going.

Rokk shook his head. "I can't tell you until Clark says that it's okay. That's up to him, not me. But I was hoping that… maybe you could tell him that what we—Imra, Garth, and I, that is—think he should do is the right thing. He's being… difficult."

Lois stood up straight. "No."

Rokk blinked. "No?"

"No." She started to back towards the farm door. "If Clark doesn't think that it's right, it probably isn't." She said it with a firm voice, leaving no room for argument. "And I can't believe that you would try and use me to convince him to do whatever it is that you want him to do."

With that said, Lois turned on her heel and left the farm. She stalked back towards the house, but Rokk caught up with her easily.

"I don't even know why you would think that Clark would listen to me," Lois muttered a few moments later.

Rokk smiled again—he definitely knew something that she didn't know. "Trust me, Lois. Clark would listen to you."

Lois made a disbelieving noise in the back of her throat, but she didn't say anything else as they entered the kitchen.

Clark was standing across from Imra. Both had their arms crossed, looking as if they were about to throw down. Rokk and Lois glanced at each other, and Rokk opened his mouth.

He didn't get a chance to say anything, however. Garth chose that moment to come running into the room, sliding to a stop right in the middle of the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Garth?" Rokk demanded, immediately falling back into his leadership role.

Garth was panting, but he managed to say, "It's Chloe. She's at the Daily Planet."

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, I hope that conversation between Rokk and Lois wasn't too confusing. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them! Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	7. Keeping Promises

**Author's Note: Hey! As always, thanks for the great reviews. Also, due to a review I received, I just wanted to point out again that this story is alternate universe. As in, what would have happened if Lois had been there for that five-episode arc. (And, since I'm writing Lois in and it's a Clois story, it will most likely change everything that came after that, too.) So things are going to be different. I'm sorry if you don't buy into it, but… that's just the way I wrote it.**

**Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, because, once again, it's been over a month since I've updated. We're almost through the first episode (finally). Now I just have to go and watch the other ones… ugh. Also, since everyone knows how Chloe was rescued from Brainiac, I'm not going to really get into that or change it. Just a heads up. Sorry for the super long author's note!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Clark Kent was frantic.

"Lois, you can't go down to the Daily Planet with us," Clark said for what felt like the hundredth time.

And for the hundredth and one time, Lois repeated, "Why do _you_ get to go down? What makes you think that you can do anything?"

Clark gritted his teeth together. He was a patient man, but Lois always found a way to try that patience. "I… I just can, alright Lois?"

"Not good enough," Lois stated. She followed him to the front door, where Rokk, Imra, and Garth waited.

Clark looked over his shoulder at his three friends from the future, but they were of no help at all. They seemed to be at just as much of a loss as he was.

"I can try, alright? I'll have Rokk, Imra, and Garth with me. We'll be fine."

Lois crossed her arms and nearly stomped her foot. She looked like a petulant child, but she didn't care. "Why do they get to go and I don't?"

"They're not injured, that's why."

"But—"

"Lois, if you go, you're in danger of ripping open your stitches. That is the last thing that any of us want. Besides." Clark was about to hit her where it hurt, and he knew it. "Do you really want Chloe to come back and find you in the hospital again?"

Lois stared at him for a long moment. Their eyes were locked on each other's, never once wavering before, to Clark's surprise, Lois finally relented.

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll stay here."

Clark nodded his head once. Their eyes stayed locked for another long moment before he turned towards the door. But Lois's hand shot out, gripping his arm, causing him to stop.

"Promise me that you'll call if she's hurt, Clark," Lois whispered.

Shit. Clark hated lying. "Of course," he said, holding her gaze for just long enough.

* * *

"Hey, cuz."

"Oh my God, Chloe!"

Lois jumped up from the couch, ignoring the twinge in her back as she rushed at her cousin. She threw her arms around her, embarrassed to feel tears suddenly burning in her eyes.

"It's good to see you too, Lo," Chloe said with a laugh. She hugged her cousin gingerly, clearly aware of Lois's injuries.

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Chloe," Lois whispered.

"Me? I'm glad that you're okay! I heard about your injuries."

Lois finally pulled back and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "It looks worse then it feels."

"That's what they all say." Chloe hugged Lois one more time, and it was then that Lois noticed the bags at Chloe's feet.

"Where are you going, Chlo?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"I have to go relieve Oliver of his nursing duties," Chloe said.

"Something tells me that Jimmy would much rather have you as his nurse then Oliver," Clark said with a gentle chuckle.

Lois also realized that Clark was there for the first time. She squeezed Chloe's hand and smiled at Clark—a real, genuine smile. A huge weight had been taken off her chest at seeing Chloe safe and sound once again.

"I'm not going for another day, though," Chloe said. "So we'll have some time together. I'm gonna go put my bags upstairs."

Chloe grabbed her bags and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Lois and Clark alone. Clark shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, waiting for Lois to say something. He was not disappointed, but he was also very surprised.

Lois launched herself at Clark, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest to hide her brimming tears.

Clark blinked down at Lois in surprise before he wrapped his arms around her in return, careful of her back. One hand threaded gently in her long locks as the other moved in small circles on her back.

"Thank you, Clark," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

* * *

Clark found Chloe in the newly re-constructed farm, staring out at the darkening sky. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug as he came to stand next to her.

Before Clark could say anything, Chloe said, "So how is it now that Lana's back in your life?"

"It's, uh…" Clark shifted from side to side. "It's not like that. At least, I don't think it is."

Chloe shook her head and chuckled. "It's always difficult when the Lana-Clark triangle gets thrown around. And, speaking from experience, the third point always hurts."

Clark's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I may not remember much about my wedding, Clark," Chloe said with a knowing look, "but I do remember the way you and Lois were looking at each other. And dancing together. Yes, it is that obvious, by the way."

"I…" Clark shook his head, his mind going back to that brief dance. "Lois is just so…"

"Lois?" Chloe supplied. "I know. Just… just promise me that you won't hurt her."

The thought had never even crossed Clark's mind. "Why would I…?" He trailed off and inhaled deeply. "I wouldn't. Ever."

* * *

Clark smiled as he looked at Chloe and Lois curled up on the couch. He was glad that they were able to get Chloe home safely. He had already said goodbye to the three Legion agents, and he could feel what was now his Legion ring in his pocket.

He didn't get much time to quietly sit back and enjoy everything being quiet, as Oliver burst through the door. Chloe and Lois stood up at the same time, looking at their friend in alarm.

"Oliver?" Lois asked. "What are you doing here? What's wrong?"

Chloe didn't say anything. She just glanced between Clark and Oliver and wished that she could run to the Isis Foundation and do whatever she could to help.

"Nothing. I just wanted to hang out with Clark for a little bit," Oliver said as he made his way over to the kitchen. "The game is on. I thought I would grab a beer. You know, guy stuff."

Lois tossed Chloe a confused look as they disappeared into the kitchen. "What game?"

* * *

"Oliver, what's going on?" Clark demanded.

"Jones was shot."

"_What?_"

"Jones was shot tonight. He's over at Metropolis General. He's stable, but… he's still gotta fight."

"Oliver, who operated on him?" Clark said. "No one can know… Shit. If he hadn't sacrificed his powers to give me back mine, that bullet wouldn't have even scratched him."

"Yeah, I get it, Clark. You feel guilty. Look, we have bigger things to worry about. We have to find out who shot Jones. And don't worry about someone finding out about Jones. I figured we could use a doctor on our payroll."

Clark nodded his head. "Let's go."

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, I didn't leave it in a great place. And yeah, this chapter was kind of a filler. But I think it had a cute Clois moment, right? And don't worry. I have big plans for the re-write of **_**Bulletproof**_**. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	8. Undercover Joe

**Author's Note: Thanks for the great reviews. I hope that you all like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Clark Kent was apprehensive. He heard the front door open and close, distracting him from his imminent undercover op as a Metropolis police officer.

"Hey," Clark said as Lana entered the kitchen. "Where have you been lately?"

Lana shrugged her shoulders. "Out and about." When Clark paused briefly to give her a questioning look, she continued, "I was just checking things out. Seeing how much everything has changed."

Clark seemed barely satisfied with her answer, but he had other things on his mind at the moment. After a moment, Lana realized that Clark was finishing tightening his belt around a Metropolis Police Department uniform. Her brow furrowed.

"Clark… what's going on?"

"The bullet that Jones was shot with went missing from evidence," Clark explained. "I'm thinking that it's an inside job. Chloe helped me with me with going undercover."

Before Lana could say anything to that, Lois came down the stairs wearing one of Clark's flannel shirts. She grinned when she saw Clark in the police uniform and patted his chest as she walked by.

"You know, I always imagined you as a police officer, Smallville."

Lana looked at Clark with wide eyes. "She knows?" she blurted before she could stop herself.

Lois frowned as she took a seat at the kitchen table, a slice of homemade cherry pie on a plate in front of her. "Lana, this may come as a surprise to you, but I helped Clark with this."

Clark gave Lana a look that clearly said she shouldn't say anything right now. "Lois found out that the bullet disappeared from evidence," he said.

"I know that Jones is a friend of Clark's," Lois said. She speared a bit of pie and tossed a smile Clark's way as she took a bit. "When I found out that he had been shot, I looked into it. There have been suspicions of corruption at that police department for a long time. Though I'm normally the one who gets to go undercover."

"Lois," Clark said firmly. "We've talked about this."

"Yeah, I know," Lois muttered grudgingly as she ate another bite of pie. "My injuries and blah blah blah. I got it."

"Well, I—hey." Clark scowled. "Is that the last slice of pie?"

Lois pressed her lips together and made her eyes go as wide and as innocent as they possibly could. Even as she did she curled an arm protectively around the plate and pulled it closer to her. "Maybe."

With a twinkle in his eye, Clark somehow managed to snag a piece of pie. He grinned in triumph as he popped the piece into his mouth. He chuckled at Lois's dumbstruck look.

"How did you do that?" she spluttered, holding the now half-eaten slice of pie closer to her.

"Reflexes," Clark answered. He tugged on the arm of his shirt—the shirt that she was wearing. "Don't stain my shirt."

Lois made a scoffing noise, but they were both smiling as Clark left the kitchen. Lana followed him, her brow furrowed in a frown. She stopped Clark with a hand on his wrist just as he was about to leave through the front door.

"Clark—"

"I know," Clark said.

Lana stared at him for a long moment before she finally asked, "What was that back there?"

Clark's brow furrowed, this time in confusion. "What?"

Lana looked back at the kitchen, where Lois was putting her plate in the dishwasher. Then she looked back at Clark before she finally said, "Nothing."

* * *

"Told you!" Lois exclaimed. "I told you that I was getting better!"

"Yeah," Clark said. "But did you also hear the part where Dr. Keller said that you were getting better because you were letting yourself heal?"

Lois grumbled under her breath as they left the hospital. Clark smiled as they made their way down the pavement. Lois's injuries were healing up nicely, even after only a week. Dr. Keller had been very impressed with Clark's ability to keep Lois from running around, something that Lois hadn't exactly taken to kindly.

"Come on, Lois," Clark said with a smile. "In three weeks, you'll be running around Metropolis, breaking the next big story. And I'll be the one running after you."

"Well, you just need to learn to keep up, Smallville," Lois said with a cheeky smile of her own.

Clark's smile softened with an emotion that neither of them could name. "I have a feeling that I'll be trying to keep up with you for a long time, Lois."

Lois stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to look at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Clark looked down at her, his blue eyes blazing as he stopped in front of her.

They were both interrupted, however, when a voice behind them said, "Joe?"

Both Lois and Clark started and turned towards the blonde man and blonde woman who had stopped behind them. Lois looked at Clark with confusion written on her face, before she realized that this must be one of the officers that he worked undercover with.

"Danny," Clark said, momentarily surprised before he recovered. "Hey. What's up?"

"We're having a cookout today," Danny said. "This is my wife, Suzie. Suzie, this is Joe. He's my new partner."

"Hey, Joe," Suzie said. She looked over at Lois, a smile on her face. Then she asked a question that was perfectly innocent, but left Lois and Clark at a complete loss for words. "Is this your wife?"

A choking sound came out of Lois and she looked at Clark with wide eyes. Clark opened and shut his mouth a few times before he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Yes."

Lois squeaked and her eyes got even wider, if that was possible. Clark's eyes were wide as well, and he couldn't believe that that had actually come out of his mouth. But now he couldn't take it back. And Danny and Suzie were looking at them with concerned looks on their faces.

Somehow, Lois recovered first and wrapped her arm around Clark's waist, resting one hand on his chest. "Yeah. I'm Jane. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Danny said as he shook Lois's hand. "Listen, why don't you guys come to the cookout tonight? We're having some of the guys from the PD over. It'll be a good chance for you to meet everyone."

"And we can have some time to talk, Jane," Suzie said. "I don't know most of the other guys' wives, so you and I can brave it together."

Both Lois and Clark knew that this would be a great opportunity for them to get any information at all. So they smiled and nodded their heads.

"That sounds great, Danny. We'll see you there," Clark said.

Danny managed to find a slip of paper, and after retrieving a pen from his wife's purse, he wrote down his address and handed it to Clark. "It starts at 5:00."

"Do you want us to bring anything?" Lois asked. She seriously hoped that it was something like a salad, because she wasn't a fantastic cook to begin with. If Suzie requested they bring dessert, they would be making an emergency stop at the supermarket.

"No, I think we're good," Suzie said. "See you tonight!"

"Bye!" Lois and Clark said at the same time as Suzie and Danny walked away. Once they were well out of earshot, however, Lois turned to Clark and whacked him on the chest.

Clark barely remembered to flinch, he was still so surprised at what he had said. But he managed to remember, and he also added an 'ow' for emphasis.

Lois didn't seem to notice Clark's pause, however. Instead, she just scowled at him. "What the hell was that!" she yelled.

"I… I don't know," Clark said honestly. "The question just really threw me. And I said the first thing that came to my mind."

"And that was _yes_?" When Clark didn't say anything, she just sighed and shook her head. "Well, what's done is done, I guess. This is a good way for you to find out any information that you can." Clark just nodded his head and Lois ran a hand through her hair. "I guess we should go get some flowers or something so we can give them to Danny and Suzie."

Clark finally snapped out of whatever funk he was in. "I'm sorry, Lois," he finally said. "I didn't mean to get you involved in all of this."

Lois watched him for a moment before she finally cracked a smile. "Don't worry about it, Smallville. Besides, you getting married to me? That would be the best day of your life."

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	9. The Life of an Officer

**Author's Note: Wow! The reviews I got for last chapter were absolutely amazing! I'm glad that you all liked it so much.**

**Just to clear up a few questions, Lana is not staying with Clark. She's staying in a room at the Talon. She just sort of pops into the farm whenever she feels like it. I'm sorry if that was confusing. Now, on to the next chapter. I hope that you all enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Lois Lane was surprisingly nervous.

She had pretended to be Clark Kent's wife once before. Alright, it was just fiancée, but still. It had ended up with them locked up with some madman in a basement and Lois admitting that she loved Clark.

So, yeah. You could say that she was just a little bit apprehensive.

Not that there was much that she could do about it now. Clark was pulling up to the house and turning off the car, so there really was no going back now. He gave her a small smile as he unbuckled his seat belt and went to open the door, but Lois put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"So…" She cleared her throat when she saw his blue eyes flash at her touch before she continued. "Is there anything that I need to know before we go in? Just so I don't get any of our stories mixed up, or anything."

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "At work yesterday, we managed to dodge a couple of bullets. Literally," he said. "Nothing too major."

Lois gaped at him. "You were shot at yesterday?"

Clark pushed the door of the car open, giving her a smile. "It wasn't a big deal."

A noise of disbelief escaped Lois as she opened her own car door and stepped out. She really couldn't think of anything to say to that—especially since Clark was being so cavalier about it.

She stared critically at Clark, but he held his arm out to her, a smile playing on his lips. Lois finally slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, and she grabbed the orchid that they had brought for Danny and his wife.

The picnic was already in full swing by the time they stepped into the backyard. Danny was standing at the grill, and Suzie was chasing a little boy wearing a red cape and a blue t-shirt around the yard.

"Alex! Alex, come back here and wash your hands!" Suzie exclaimed. She finally managed to capture the little blonde boy in her arms and tickled him.

"Hey, Joe, Jane," she said. "We're so glad that you could come."

"Thank you for inviting us," Clark said with one of his charming smiles.

"This is our son, Alex," Suzie introduced. "Alex, this is Mr. and Mrs. Foreman. Mr. Foreman is your dad's new partner."

The little boy smiled up at them, and Clark said, "Who are you supposed to be, buddy? Warrior Angel?"

By that time, they had made their way over to where Danny was. Alex had latched onto his father's pant leg and grinned up at Clark.

"No, I'm the Red-Blue Blur!" he exclaimed.

Danny sighed. "It's a losing battle," he muttered.

"But I love the Red-Blue Blur, Daddy!" Alex said. "He's my hero!"

Lois was smiling down at the little boy, and Clark felt something swell up in his chest. He had never given much thought to how people had thought of him as a hero. He had always just wanted to help people.

"Don't worry, Danny," Suzie said, patting her husband's shoulder. "He'll grow out of it." Though she didn't sound that broken up about it.

Smiling to break the sudden tension, Lois said, "Since you insisted on us not bringing any food, we brought a flower instead." She held the orchid out.

"Oh, they're lovely," Suzie said. "Aren't they lovely, Danny?"

"Yeah, they're really nice," Danny said. "Did you pick them out, Foreman?"

Clark smiled. "Jane picked them."

"Well, they're wonderful," Suzie said. "Why don't you come inside with me, Jane, and we'll find a vase to put them in."

It took Lois just a moment to remember that Jane was actually herself, and she followed Suzie into the house. She was giving Clark a chance to talk to the other officers and their wives.

"Did you hear about what happened to the boys yesterday?" Suzie asked as she put the flowers into the vase.

"Cl—Uh, yeah. Joe told me that they got shot at," Lois said. "It sounded awful."

Lois wasn't lying; it really did. This was just supposed to be Clark going undercover—he wasn't supposed to get shot at. He just supposed to find out information about his friend. Lois hated to admit that she might have naively thought that this wasn't going to be very dangerous for Clark.

Suzie shook her head. "Every time Danny steps out the door, I wonder if he's going to come home. "Ever since he lost his partner, things have been hard. I'm just glad that Joe is looking out for him now."

Lois nodded her head. "I'm glad that Joe has a good guy like Danny looking out for him, too." She didn't believe that Danny had anything to do with Jones getting shot. He seemed like a good guy who just really wanted to help people.

* * *

"You don't like the Red-Blue Blur?" Clark asked as they watched Alex run around the yard. Danny really didn't seem to like the cape that his son was running around with.

Danny shrugged his shoulders and flipped a burger. "I just feel like there are these costumed idiots get in our way and take all of the credit for everything. You know, the Red-Blue, the Green Arrow."

Clark gave a weak chuckle and said, "The Great Pumpkin?"

"Yeah," Danny said.

Pressing his lips together, Clark said, "You think that they do more harm than good? It just seems to me that they save people. Sometimes."

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. But all I know is that cops have rules. Capes don't."

Clark looked around the yard. There was a good possibility that one of these cops didn't follow the rules that they had. And Clark didn't think that Danny knew that.

Before he could say anything else, Suzie and Lois returned to the backyard. Danny wrapped an arm around Suzie's shoulders, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Clark and Lois looked at each other. It was natural to expect couples to touch each other, and it would have been very noticeable if they didn't physically acknowledge each other.

So Clark wrapped an arm around Lois's waist, pulling her close. Lois rested her head on his chest, over his heart, placing her hand on his chest as well.

An officer stepped forward, lifting his beer. "To Foreman," he said. "The rookie really earned his keep today. To all of us. We all made it home safely. May we all be as lucky tomorrow."

Everyone in the yard applauded, and Clark looked down at Lois, embarrassed. To cover his embarrassment, he dropped a kiss to the top of Lois's head.

"What was that all about?" Lois asked, attempting to remain as nonchalant as possible.

Danny overheard the question. "Joe pushed me out of the way of a bullet yesterday." He clapped his hand on Clark's other shoulder. "He saved my life today."

Lois looked up at Clark. "You didn't tell me about that."

The other officer came up to them. "Foreman seems like a humble man," he said. "But you should be proud of your husband, Miss Jane."

Lois smiled, hugging Clark and placing her head back on his chest again. "I am," she said.

Clark smiled down at her, squeezing his hand around her waist. Knowing that Lois was proud of him did some interesting things to him, and his mind went back to the conversation that he and Chloe had had earlier.

Another of the officer's phone rang, and four others rang soon after that. Danny checked his phone as well. "Foreman, we've got to go," he said to Clark. He turned to Suzie, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her lips.

All of the officers were saying goodbye to their wives and girlfriends. Clark looked down at Lois; Lois looked up at Clark. They could feel Danny and Suzie's eyes on them, and even the other officer's eyes on them as well.

After hearing that Clark had saved another officer from getting shot, and being told that she should be proud of her husband, it was only natural that she should kiss him before he went off for another call.

So Clark bent down at the same time Lois stretched up, and he brushed a kiss across her lips. And then he was gone.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that the Clois interaction wasn't a letdown! This isn't the last episode with Lois and Clark pretending to be husband and wife. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	10. Metropolis' Finest

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the amazing reviews! I'm so glad that you're all ready to see more of the Foremans. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Clark Kent was confused.

They arrived at an abandoned warehouse, and nothing looked disturbed. It was quiet, as well. Clark couldn't even hear anything with his super hearing. As far as he knew, there was nothing going on here.

But the officer that had complimented Clark at the cookout, Officer Talbert, led him, Danny, and three other officers into the warehouse. He had a look of grim determination on his face as they stepped into the building.

There was someone huddled in the middle of the floor, being watched be two more officers. When Danny saw who it was, he paled and froze in his tracks.

Clark's brow furrowed in concern. "Danny?"

Danny didn't say anything, and Talbert didn't answer Clark's unasked question, either. Instead, he turned to Danny and said, "Got you a little present, Danny. Look who surfaced."

They all surrounded the guy who had been huddled in a ball on the floor, and he stood up shakily and tried to speak calmly. Clark watched as Danny's jaw locked and his hands tightened into fists.

The guy held his hands up. "Listen… I got acquitted, alright? The judge, he let me off, no strings attached, and I—"

Danny exploded, stepping forward and yelling right into the guy's face. "You got off on a technicality, you piece of shit cop killer! Do you have any idea what you did to my partner's family?" Danny grabbed the guy's jacket and shook him hard before rearing back and punching him in the stomach. "Huh? What you did to me?" He hit the guy again, twice more. Once across the face and another in the stomach.

Clark stepped forward, about to say Danny's name, when Talbert held his hand out, stopping Clark from moving forward.

"We may not control the system," Talbert said with his eyes on the guy in front of them. "But we control the streets."

The guy was on his knees now, looking up at Danny with his tears running down his face. He held his hands out, palms up towards the ceiling, in the signal for surrender and apology. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry…" he sobbed.

"Danny," Talbert said. "Don't hold back. Justice must be served."

Danny was very obviously torn between wanting justice for his fallen partner and the fact that this… this just wasn't right. This was not the way to get justice for what happened, and he knew that.

"I'm sorry," the man said again. He fell onto his back, looking up at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes.

"Are you just going to stand there, Foreman?" another officer said. He tossed Clark a crow bar, and he caught it one handed. He gave Clark a meaningful look. "Or are you gonna man up and give your partner a hand?"

Clark stared down at the crow bar in his hand. This was wrong. This was so wrong. And looking up at Danny, he could see that the young officer knew that.

Before Clark could put an end to what was going on, there was a buzzing sound and then the three officers behind him fell with little green arrows sticking out of their chests. The two officers guarding the man lying on the floor fell next, and then Talbert and Danny.

Clark caught the arrow shot at him and threw it to the ground. Oliver came out from his vantage point, ready to take him down, but Clark stopped him.

Clark could see Oliver's eyes widen in surprise behind his glasses. "Clark, what the hell are you doing here?" he snapped.

Clark didn't bother to answer him. Instead, he pushed Oliver towards the door. "You need to get out of here! Now!"

* * *

Lois shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Even though the doctor said that she was getting better, she still had some discomfort. Of course, that was to be expected, given the long gashes in her back, but she hated being out of it.

Seeing Clark run off with the other officers kind of pissed her off. She was so used to doing that sort of thing herself that she was annoyed that she couldn't do much more than sit back and watch. She hated just watching.

But Clark had come back to the house about an hour ago, looking thoroughly disturbed about something. When Lois had asked what was wrong, Clark had just shook his head and disappeared out to the farm.

He was walking back into the house now, sweaty and covered in little specks of hay. The white t-shirt that he wore stuck to his well-defined chest and back. Lois thought back to their brief kiss at Danny and Suzie's house before she shook her head, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. Clark walked past Lois without a word and stuck his head in the fridge, reappearing with a bottle of water.

"Feel better?" Lois asked.

Clark gave her a small smile and shrugged his shoulders, taking a long sip of water. Before he could answer, the front door to the house slammed open and Oliver stalked in.

"Imagine my surprise when I stumble upon Metropolis' finest going gangland." He raised an eyebrow at Clark. "Thug is a really good look for you and your crew, by the way."

"What's going on?" Lois asked, alarmed by the way the two men were facing off with furious looks on their faces.

"They're not all bad, Oliver," Clark said as if he hadn't heard Lois. "Some of them are out there every day, risking their lives and their families, trying to do…" Clark stopped talking abruptly and glanced at Lois out of his peripheral vision. "The right thing," he finished.

Oliver just stared at him for a long moment, shaking his head. Lois looked between the two men, her frustration with the whole situation rising.

"What happened?" she asked, but she was ignored once again.

"Of all people," Clark said. "I though you would understand that this isn't just black and white."

Oliver just continued to shake his head. "No matter how noble their intentions were when they started, Clark, these people have gone too far."

"Danny watched that guy kill his partner!" Clark defended. "Tell me that you've never been tempted to look in the eyes of someone who just committed so much pain and just—"

"Kill him," Oliver said in a flat voice. "Kill him for the greater good? You're gonna stand there and tell me that's what you believe? I don't think so."

Lois was now more than fed up with the two of them. She slammed the palms of her hands down onto the kitchen table to get their attention and stood up.

"YO!" she yelled. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Clark and Oliver turned to look at Lois with looks of complete and utter shock on their faces. She didn't look away from them, crossing her arms and leveling both of them with a glare.

Given that Lois was helping him with this investigation, it was only fair that she knew what was going on.

"Officer Talbert brought us to a warehouse when we lift the cookout," Clark explained. "And the man who killed Danny's partner was there. And they…" Clark shrugged his shoulders.

"Wanted to beat the crap out of him?" Oliver provided. Without waiting for a response, he slapped a picture down on the table.

Clark and Lois both looked at the picture. "That's the suspect that Jones tracked down that night," Lois said.

Oliver shook his head again, a grim look on his face. "But he didn't find his way back to custody. He did, however, manage to find his way to the bottom of the river." He nodded his head when he saw Lois and Clark's shocked looks, confirming his statement. "Now, these people are taking the law into their own hands. How many more people have to die before you do anything?"

"We are doing something!" Lois exclaimed.

But Clark knew what Oliver meant. "I have it narrowed down to Simmons and Talbert," Clark said. "Both have sniper training."

"My money is on Talbert," Lois offered. "I was just getting a bad feeling from him."

Looking somewhat disappointed, Oliver picked up the picture. "Great! You two can sit here and play detective. I'm going to make sure your boys don't get a chance to put another person in the hospital."

As Oliver walked away, Lois shook her head. "What the hell is his problem?"

But Clark just stared after his friend before he turned on his heel and went upstairs to change. "I have to go talk to Danny."

* * *

Clark had only been gone for ten minutes when Lois felt something prick the back of her neck. Frowning, she felt the back of her neck and pulled out a tranquilizer dart.

Her vision began to blur, and she felt herself begin to fall over. Just as her head hit the ground, she saw two people wearing all black walk into her line of sight.

And just before she lost consciousness, she heard one of them say, "We'll be sure to get the Green Arrow when he finds out that we have Foreman's pretty wife."

* * *

**Author's Note: Oooh, cliffhanger. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	11. Search and Rescue

**Author's Note: Okay, so I left you all hanging a little longer than I intended, but I have a really good reason, I promise. I spilled something on my laptop keyboard, and now half of it doesn't work. So I had to wait to get an external keyboard. So it was my fault, but now I have the chapter up! Yay! But, as always, thank you for the amazing reviews, and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Clark Kent was hopeful.

Walking with Danny through the hospital, he was glad to find that his gut instinct had been right; Danny was a good man. He was just a little lost at the moment.

Finally, the young officer sighed and looked up at Clark with troubled eyes. "Joe, I'm just one man," he said softly, as if afraid someone would overhear him. "What can one man do?"

Giving Danny a meaningful look, Clark said, "Ask yourself why you put that uniform on in the first place."

* * *

Lois woke up with a pounding head.

Lifting her head off of her chest, she discovered that she was tied to a chair, her wrists bound behind her back. She winced as she opened her eyes. This position so wasn't good for her the injuries on her back.

Apparently, the people who had captured her weren't aware that she was awake yet, since she continued talking. And as her mind cleared up, she recognized a few police officers from the cookout earlier in the day.

"You did the right thing, telling us your suspicions about Joe," Talbert said. He clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Just one more loose thread to tie up. Your hands have clean for way too long, Danny boy."

Even though Danny's back was to Lois, she could see the way his shoulders slumped. Clearly, the young officer wasn't happy.

Talbert noticed this as well, and he nudged Danny's shoulder. "Come on, smile. You're gonna be the man who killed the Green Arrow."

At this, Lois let out a snort. Both men, along with Simmons, turned around. Talbert smirked at her as he walked forward, placing a hand on the back of Lois's chair. "Ah. Foreman's pretty wife is awake now."

Lois leaned away from Talbert's hand. "No thanks to you," she said in a deceptively pleasant voice. Tilting her head, she said almost nonchalantly, "You're not going to kill the Green Arrow."

"And what makes you think that?" Talbert asked in a conversational tone.

"You can't," Lois said simply.

"Ah, so you're a supporter of the vigilantes," Simmons said with a sneer.

"I'm a supporter of the _heroes_," Lois snapped.

"We're the real heroes here, Mrs. Foreman," Talbert said, leaning close to her. "That's something that you better learn real fast."

Lois snorted. "Right. Kidnapping me and killing a man in cold blood makes you a hero."

"Actually," Simmons said as a cold smile unfurled on his face. "We're taking out two men tonight."

Lois's brow furrowed, her eyes flashing worriedly to Danny. "What do you mean?"

Talbert and Simmons exchanged a look before Talbert said, "I think someone you know well will be showing up soon."

Clark's name was on the tip of her tongue, but Lois managed to remember just in time that they still knew him as Joe Foreman. "If you hurt Joe, I swear I'll—"

"You'll do what?" Talbert snapped. "If I remember correctly, you're tied to a chair."

"And what do you plan on doing with me once you get rid of the Green Arrow and Cl… Kill my husband?" Lois hoped that her little slip up would be attributed to stuttering with fear. Luckily, the two officers didn't seem to notice it. Danny, on the other hand, had his brow furrowed as he studied Lois.

"We thought that we'd leave that as a surprise," Simmons said after a moment.

Despite the fact that she didn't want to be afraid, dread filled Lois.

* * *

"Clark! Clark!"

Oliver ran into the farmhouse decked out in full Green Arrow gear. Clark looked up from the files spread out in front of him, ready to ask Oliver what the hell he thought he was doing. Lois could walk in at any moment, after all, and Clark Kent wasn't supposed to know the Green Arrow.

Before Clark could say anything, however, he got a good look at Oliver's face. And before he could ask Oliver what was wrong, Oliver said, "Lois was kidnapped by Talbert and Simmons!"

Clark jumped up from his chair, pushing it backwards hard. It flew into the wall and smashed into two pieces, but Clark paid no attention to it.

"What do you mean, she was _kidnapped?_" Clark demanded, not quite willing to believe it. There was no way that he could have let her get kidnapped. He was supposed to be keeping her safe.

Clark was well aware that Lois could take care of herself, but she had been hurt when he could have prevented it. And now she had been kidnapped when he could have prevented it.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "She was kidnapped, dumbass. How much more clear do I have to be?" Without waiting for Clark to respond, Oliver walked over towards the door. Before he could wrench it open, there was a knock.

Both men froze, looking at each other. Finally, Clark gestured for Oliver to go. "Go," he said. "I'll catch up with you."

Oliver nodded his head before he disappeared out the back of the house. Clark went to the front door and was surprised to find Simmons and Talbert standing on the other side.

"What are you guys doing here?" Clark asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as he possibly could.

Simmons and Talbert both smirked. Finally, Talbert held up a photograph. Clark blanched when he saw that it was of Lois tied to a chair.

"We have something that you might be missing, Foreman."

* * *

Lois tried to stretch, but it was difficult given the confines of her chair. Her wrists were raw, and to top it all off, her back was killing her. And she had been doing so well, too.

She looked over towards Danny, who was sitting in another chair with his shoulders slumped. Lois frowned; he really was a good man. He was just a little bit lost, that's all.

"Danny," Lois said gently. "You don't want to do this."

Danny looked at her for a moment before he dropped his head into his hands. "I'm sorry, Jane," he said. "I really am. I never meant for you to get involved. You weren't supposed to get hurt."

"They're going to kill my husband," Lois said. This wasn't true—Clark wasn't her husband, after all. But she definitely didn't want to see him die. Especially since she…

Lois gave herself a little mental shake. She had more important things to worry about right now.

"Do you really think that that wouldn't hurt me?" After a pause, Lois continued, "You know this is wrong. I know that you don't want to do this. I can tell. And more importantly, you're _better_ than this."

Danny still didn't look up at her, and Lois could hear car doors slamming outside the warehouse that they were in. She only had a few more moments to convince Danny not to do anything; especially if Simmons and Talbert had Clark with them.

"What are you going to tell your son when you go home tonight?" Lois said quickly, urgently. "When he asks you if you saved someone, what are you going to say?" Danny finally looked at her, and Lois went in for the kill. "You _can_ save someone, Danny."

Danny didn't hesitate after that. He got up and pulled a knife from his boot. He cut the ropes off of her wrist and helped her stand. Lois took a quickly moment to stretch, wincing when her back pulled painfully. A hand flew to her back, and Danny gave her a concerned look.

"Jane are you okay?" he asked as he looked at her back. She heard him gasp. "You're bleeding. Did Talbert and Simmons hurt you?"

"No," Lois said quickly as they found a place to hide. "It's from a previous injury."

"What—"

Lois shushed him as Talbert and Simmons entered the warehouse. Sure enough, they had Clark with them. Lois bit back a curse as they went further into the warehouse. Turning to Danny she pointed to one of the side doors.

"Go call for backup," she ordered.

"I can't just leave you here by yourself, Jane!" Danny said.

"I'll be fine. I'll stay right here," Lois said. Seeing Danny's skeptical look—Clark must have told him some stories, or something—Lois rolled her eyes. "I promise!"

With a nod of his head, Danny snuck out of the warehouse. From her hiding place, Lois turned back to watch the two rogue officers and Clark. Her back was throbbing, but she bit her lip and managed to keep from hissing with pain.

"Danny boy!" Talbert called. Then he noticed that Lois was no longer tied to her chair, and he quickly changed his tune.

"That little bastard!" Simmons exclaimed. "What if he goes to the chief? What are we supposed to do then?"

"He won't," Talbert said calmly. "He won't, because he knows what will happen to his family if he tries something like that. Danny just got cold feet and let little Mrs. Foreman go. They probably haven't gotten far. We'll just find your lovely wife again, won't we Foreman?"

"Leave Jane alone," Clark said in a hard, commanding voice. He didn't stumble over Lois's undercover name once, and she found herself impressed with the intimidating presence he presented. "She doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Don't worry," Simmons said with a smirk. "We were just going to have some fun with her."

Lois wasn't sure if she had just blinked and missed it, but one second Simmons was standing in front of Clark, smirking. Half a second later, he was on the ground, blinking dazedly up at Clark.

Lois watched as Talbert pulled his gun from his belt and pointed it at Clark. Lois jumped up, allowing her a clear view of what was happening. Before Lois could yell a warning to Clark, the Green Arrow came crashing through one of the windows and took out Simmons, who had stood and pulled out his gun as well.

But Talbert's gun went off, alarmingly close to Clark's chest. But it was Talbert who ended up on the ground, clutching his arm as blood squeezed between his fingers. Clark, miraculously, was okay, standing unharmed in front of Talbert and Simmons.

"You okay?" the Green Arrow asked Clark in his deep, altered voice.

"I'm fine," Clark said brusquely. "Did you find Lois?"

"Not yet," the Green Arrow said. "But I'll go look for her."

Lois's brow furrowed as she stared critically at Clark. Since when was he on speaking terms with the Green Arrow? And she had seen how closely the gun had gone off to him. Talbert had to have shot him; there was no other way! How was Clark unharmed?

Something was going on, and Lois was determined to figure it out.

But then she realized that Clark had the Green Arrow looking for her, and that Clark himself would most likely begin to look for her. And she had realized a long time ago that there was more to him than just a bumbling reporter. She had no doubt that he would find her, and quickly.

Lois left through the same side door that Danny had left from. Going to the front, she found Danny waiting for the backup that he had called. She could see the red and blue lights flashing as they neared the warehouse, and she took Danny by the arm and into the warehouse.

"Joe!" Lois called, as if she didn't know that Clark was in there. "Joe, are you in here?"

Clark came out from behind a stack of boxes, a smile on his face. "Jane?"

"Oh, Joe, you're okay!" Lois threw her arms around him in a hug, well aware that Danny still thought they were married.

Clark, on the other hand, was completely surprised by Lois's hug. But with a smile, he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her. He was so glad that she was okay.

"Joe," Danny said. He just finished handcuffing Talbert and Simmons. "Her back is bleeding."

Clark pulled back abruptly and spun Lois quickly but gently around. Lois scowled at Danny as Clark inspected her back.

"Thanks, Danny," she muttered darkly.

"I need to get you to Dr. Hamilton," Clark said firmly. "Come on—"

Completely forgetting her cover, she was so mad, Lois wretched herself out of Clark's gentle grip and whipped around to face him. "Clark, it's probably not as bad as you're making it out to be! I probably just need to get wrapped again. Jeeze, Smallville, take a pill!"

Before Clark could reply, Danny said, "Clark?"

Both Clark and Lois froze, sharing a look. Finally, Clark turned to Danny and said, "We haven't been completely honest with you, Danny. My name is actually Clark Kent."

"And I'm Lois Lane," Lois added with a sheepish smile.

"The reporters from the _Daily Planet_," Danny said.

"Yeah," Lois said, impressed and flattered that he knew who they were. "That's how we knew about Detective Jones."

"He's a friend of mine," Clark explained. "That's why all of this happened."

Danny didn't call Clark on pretending to be a cop, like he had expected. Instead, he just looked between Clark and Lois, a thoughtful look on his face.

"So you two aren't married?" he finally said.

Lois's cheeks heated up, and she refused to look at Clark. After everything that had happened, _that's_ what Danny chose to ask them about?

"Uh, no," Clark finally said. "No, we're not."

The officers that Danny had called for backup came in a moment later. Danny looked at them both for another moment before he smiled.

"That's a shame," he said. "I could see you two together."

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, I hope that you all liked this chapter! Now Lois definitely knows that something is going on with Clark. Unfortunately, the next chapter will contain the return of Lana. I have to go watch the other three episodes and figure out how to twist them so that they become Clois-centered…**

**Also, I was wondering if anyone knows if Lois knew that Oliver was the Green Arrow by this point. I can't quite remember. Thanks for reading, and I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	12. Stuck

**Author's Note: Thank you for the amazing reviews! So I'm not starting on the next episode yet, but Lana will be coming back in this chapter. But this chapter also has a lot of big Clois moments in it, so hopefully that makes up for it! I hope that you all like this chapter!**

**Also, thanks to everyone who answered my question about Oliver and Lois in the episode 'Siren.' I thought that she knew he was the Green, Arrow, but I didn't know for sure. So thanks!**

**Sorry for the really long author's note, but in response to a review from somethingnotreal, I'm sorry about calling the barn the farm! I've never lived on or near a barn before, so I'm sorry about the mistake. But I'm glad you like the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Oliver Queen was extremely amused.

Clark was busy putting a bear claw on a plate for Lois along with a cup of coffee. Next to him, Oliver watched with an amused look on his face.

"You're Lois's bitch," he stated.

Clark glared at his friend. "Oliver."

"What?" The smile hadn't disappeared from Oliver's face. The look he was wearing clearly said "I know something you don't know."

Clark just gave him a look, and Oliver finally relented. "You've been waiting on Lois hand and foot since she came back with the injury." Oliver's smile disappeared, and he looked at Clark carefully. "You still feel guilty, don't you?"

Clark looked away for a moment. "I might have been able to keep her from getting hurt if I hadn't been…"

"If you hadn't been what, Clark?" Oliver prodded quietly. He knew exactly what Clark was thinking, and he was honestly surprised that his friend had even thought that at all.

Clark was normally blind when it came to Lana Lang. He didn't see anything but here when she around. To know that he was thinking about Lois when Lana had returned gave Oliver hope for his two friends.

Clark didn't answer. Maybe he was realizing how he acted whenever Lana was around. Maybe he realized that she was all he ever talked about or thought about or complained about.

Before Clark could answer, the door opened. Oliver let out a sigh; they had been doing so well.

"Speaking of…" he mumbled under his breath.

Clark looked up to find Lana standing behind them. He gave her a small smile, the topic of his conversation with Oliver still on his mind.

"Hey," he said. "Where have you been?"

Lana looked away from Clark for a split second to Oliver, who was giving her a pointed look. Trying to keep from looking guilty, she looked back towards Clark.

"I've just been around town," she said. "Getting my bearings back. What have you two been up to?"

"We found out who shot Detective Jones," Oliver said. He reached forward to snag one of the bear claws that Clark had stored in a box. Clark pulled the box away from Oliver and had it safely on top of the fridge before Oliver's hand had even gotten halfway there. Oliver scowled.

"I just wanted something to eat," he said, staring longingly at the box.

"Go and get something from the fridge, then," Clark said. "Lois will kill you if you steal one of her bear claws."

"It wasn't stealing," Oliver grumbled. Nevertheless, he made his way over to the fridge and stuck his head in. "And she should really learn how to share."

Lana was watching their exchange with an unreadable look on her face. Oliver reappeared with half a sandwich and seemed to remember that they were in the middle of telling a story. Kicking the fridge door shut with his foot, he said, "And Lois was kidnapped."

"Oh my God," Lana said, her brow furrowed in concern. "Is she okay? How did it happen?"

"She's fine," Oliver answered before Clark could. "But Lois was pretending to be Clark's wife while he was undercover. A couple of the rouge officers kidnapped her to try and get the Green Arrow to come to them."

The look on Lana's face was one of pure shock. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had even fallen open, and she gaped openly at Clark. Before she could even begin to formulate a response, however, another voice joined them.

"It was all Clark's idea."

Lana, Oliver, and Clark turned to find Lois standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She was trying to look as neutral as possible, but the corners or her mouth kept tilting up higher and higher. Lana seemed to be at a complete loss for words, and Oliver looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Clark groaned when he saw Lois. "Lois," he said. "You're supposed to be upstairs _resting_. And I have to change your bandages. So for my sanity, can you please go lay back down?"

"My butt hurts too much from sitting down all of the time," Lois stated. "And I was hungry."

Clark passed the plate containing a bear claw to Lois, and she beamed at him. She took a big bite and said around the pastry, "Thanks, Smallville!"

She turned to go back up the stairs, and Clark watched her with a smile on his face. It was a moment before he realized that there were still other people in the room. He cleared his throat before he grabbed the extra bandages and cleaning materials that Dr. Hamilton had given to him.

"I'll just… I'll talk to you guys later." Clark disappeared up the stairs, very nearly using his super speed to get out of the awkward situation.

As Clark opened the door to Lois's (his) room, he couldn't help but think that he had always felt a little awkward around Lana.

* * *

Oliver watched Lana staring after Clark, the look of absolute shock still on her face. He felt bad for her; but he knew that Lois and Clark were meant for each other. And they might be pig-headed, and it might take them forever to admit, but they would realize it eventually. Just like everyone else had.

"You see it, don't you?" Oliver said quietly.

Lana's mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally said, "I just don't get it. Clark… and Lois? I just never imagined them… together."

Now Oliver gave her an incredulous look. "Lana, really? Think about the past four years. I'm not saying that Clark never loved you, because he did."

Lana didn't miss Oliver's use of the past tense, but Oliver pretended like he hadn't said anything of the sort. Instead, he continued, "Clark has always been oddly protective of Lois. The two of them go at it like cats and dogs, but you'd have to be blind not to see that they care about each other."

Lana stared at Oliver for a long, silent moment; Oliver was half afraid that she would lash out and start hitting him. But someone here had to be honest. There was no need to drag this out for longer than it had to be.

Finally, Lana said softly, "You invited me to Chloe's wedding."

Oliver's brow furrowed; he wasn't really sure where Lana was going with that one. It didn't take long for him to figure it out, though. He sighed and put a hand on her arm, squeezing gently. And it was only then that he realized how much of an idiot he had been.

"Lana," Oliver said gently. "I invited you to the wedding so you could see your friend get married." He looked at her firmly, even though his voice was still gentle. "But it wasn't some elaborate scheme to get you and Clark back together." There was a long pause where Lana looked down, and Oliver squeezed her arm again. "I'm sorry if you thought that that was why."

Lana looked up at him after another moment and gave him a small smile. "I just wish that… Sometimes I wonder if things could have been different. They could have worked for us. I mean, Lois doesn't know—"

"But Lois isn't stupid," Oliver interrupted. "I have no doubt that she'll figure it out. And Lana…" Oliver trailed off, unsure of how to say this next part. Finally, he just decided to state it for what it was. "Remember, you're the one that married Lex. It's not as if Clark and Lex—"

"That's not fair!" Lana exclaimed. "Don't you dare through that back at me, Oliver! You know that he tricked me into marrying him—"

"Okay, so he did," Oliver said. "But you started a relationship with him in the first place. That's not exactly forgivable, Lana, and you know it."

"But Clark and I had a relationship after Lex and I had a divorce," Lana pointed out.

"And all of the secrets and lies tore you apart. Once again. And you're not even being truthful with him now. That's no way to build a relationship, and you know it."

"How do you expect Lois and Clark to have a relationship then?" Lana demanded. "He's not going to tell her any time soon!"

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "You don't know that."

They both fell silent and looked up at the ceiling. Neither of them was sure of what was going on up there.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Lana and Oliver, things were going on in Clark's bedroom—just not the exact thing that they thought.

"God, Smallville!" Lois exclaimed, biting back a curse. "Where did you learn your bedside manner?"

Despite the fact that he wasn't really enjoying seeing Lois in pain, Clark looked down at her with an amused look. "Lois, I'm barely touching you," he said.

So far, he had removed her bandages from her back. Now she was lying on her stomach, her back bared for Clark to bandage, and he was preparing to clean her wounds. He couldn't help but wince when he saw the gashes. While they were healing, they still looked awful. That was to be expected; it had only been a week since they had been closed up.

"Did you take your pain medication?" Clark asked as he gently dabbed a cotton swap on her back.

He could just picture Lois scowling even though he couldn't see her face. "No," she grumbled. "I hate taking pain medication."

"You know it's going to hurt if you don't take it," Clark said. He quickly finished cleaning the gashes before he retrieved the bandages.

Lois knew that Clark was right, but that didn't mean that she had to admit it—or like it. "I know that. You don't need to talk to me like I'm five years old."

Clark rolled his eyes and fit the bandages gently to her back. "You know that I didn't mean it like that. I just want you to get better."

Lois snorted. "So you can kick me out?"

There was a pause while Clark smoothed the bandages out on her back and taped them down. "No," he finally said.

He didn't elaborate any further, and Lois didn't ask him to. He just finished with the bandages before stepping back to allow her to sit up.

It was then that Clark and Lois both remembered that she had to remove all of her clothing in order for Clark to re-bandage her back properly. Feeling her cheeks start to heat up, Lois sat up with the sheet clutched tightly to her chest.

Clark stared at her for beat before his cheeks turned red as well. He turned and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Lois smiled before she pulled on her shirt.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all liked this chapter! Next chapter will be on the next episode, which I have yet to watch. But I will… eventually. I just have to figure out a way to make it about Clois!**


	13. Unraveling

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. I really have no excuse for it… maybe I just didn't want to watch or read about the episode 'Power.' Lana has always gotten on my nerves, and reading the transcript from this episode is just making it worse. And where did Chloe come from in this one? I mean, really? Wasn't she telling Clark not to mess with Lois's feelings, but then she turned around and encouraged him to be with Lana. Come on. Well, this episode is about to get a major Clois twist. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Lois Lane was one part angry, one part hurt, and one part concerned.

Leaning against the doorframe leading into the living room, Lois silently watched Clark as he stared at the television screen. She remembered when she had found him watching this very DVD seven months ago. It had broken her heart to see Clark's heart broken like that. Watching Lana come back into his life and mess with his head again kind of made her want to punch the raven-haired girl sometimes.

"_We thought we were meant to be together, Clark. But the truth is, we were fooling ourselves. I need you… but the world needs you more. And as long as I'm in your life, I am holding you back._"

Holding him back from _what_? There was so much that Lois didn't know about Clark… but at times, she felt that she knew him better than anyone else. There were many times, like after Clark had watched Lana's DVD message for the first time, that Lois felt as though she had seen how vulnerable Clark really was. Clark had shown her things that he didn't really show other people.

But then Lois remembered in the warehouse, when that bullet seemed to literally bounce off of Clark. The way that he had hit that Talbert so fast, he was on the ground and it seemed as if Clark hadn't even moved. Lois was busy making connections in her mind—she was so close, but she was still missing something.

The front door opened and closed, and Lois turned to find Chloe approaching them. Jimmy was going to be sent home in a few days, and Chloe had gone home before him to set things up at the apartment.

Standing next to her cousin, Chloe saw that Clark was watching Lana's DVD. She sighed and shook her head, drawing Clark's attention to them. His eyes stayed on Lois for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before he took the DVD out and stood up.

Clark stared down at the disc in his hand before he shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the cousins. "I needed to remind myself that she left for a reason," he said quietly.

Lois shook her head before she pushed off from the wall and disappeared into the kitchen. Chloe and Clark watched her go before she turned to her friend, trying her best not to glare at him.

"I was only gone for a week and a half," she said lowly. "What the hell happened?"

"You know, the usual. Jones got shot, we tried to find out who did it. I went undercover as a police officer…and Lois pretended to be my wife…"

"_What?_"

"She kind of got caught up in our little scheme," Clark said with a wince. "But everything worked out in the end. We caught the people who shot Jones and everyone is okay."

"Then what's with this?" Chloe demanded, pointing at the disc in Clark's hands.

Clark sighed. "I'm just… confused," he admitted.

"Well, you better get un-confused. Someone is going to get hurt if you don't."

* * *

Having clamed herself down, Lois felt as if she could be in Clark's presence without wanting to scream. She found him by the front door, pulling his jacket on.

"Where are you off to, Smallville?"

Clark gave her a small, tense smile. "I was actually going over to Chloe's apartment," he said. He paused before adding, "I need to talk to Lana."

Lois tried not to let it get to her as she nodded her head. After a moment, she grabbed her jacket as well and slowly began to pull it on. She still had to be wary of the wounds on her back. Clark rushed to help her.

"What are you doing, Lois?" he asked.

Lois zipped her jacket up. "I should go see Chloe. She'll probably need help getting ready for Jimmy to come home. I might as well help her now before she calls me." That sounded like a good enough excuse to go over with him, right? She'd be damned if she let Lana hurt Clark again.

Thankfully, Clark didn't question her. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

Chloe wasn't at the apartment. Neither was Lana.

But Tess Mercer was.

"Why the hell are you pointing that gun at us, Mercer?" Lois demanded from behind Clark. When they had both heard the gun cock, Clark had shoved Lois behind him. They still hadn't relaxed when they found that it was Tess pointing that gun at them.

Tess rolled her eyes and lowered the gun. "I didn't realize that it was you."

"I didn't realize that breaking and entering was one of your hobbies," Lois said snippily. "Then again, I shouldn't really be surprised. Considering who you work for, and all."

Tess glared at Lois. "The door was already open when I got here. I came here to warn Lana, but it appears that I was too late."

"Warn her about what?" Clark demanded.

Tess glanced at Lois before a smirk touched her lips. She was about to start stirring the pot, and Clark knew it. Before he could open his mouth to protest, Tess started speaking.

"It seems that Lana has been… poking around in some classified LuthorCorp technology."

And with those words, Tess sucked Lois into his world.

* * *

There was a long moment of silence after Tess explained what she thought had happened to Lana. Clark was so tense that Lois thought he was going to snap. Every time the CEO of LuthorCorp looked at Lois, she smirked a little bit. And Lois was trying to wrap her head around the fact that Lana had some weird revenge thing going out for Lex.

"Well… what about Chloe?" Lois finally asked. "Is she okay?"

"She was at the supermarket when this happened," Tess said. "She's fine."

Lois blinked at Tess before she said, "I don't even want to know how you know that."

"I just…" Clark shook his head. It seemed that he was having trouble wrapping his mind around this situation, as well. "I guess I always knew that Lex was still alive, but… I had no idea that he was capable of kidnapping Lana from wherever he's at right now."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Tess revealed. Seeing the look of confusion on Clark's face, Tess concluded, "She didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Clark asked lowly.

Tess flashed another smirk at Lois before she said to Clark, "That DVD Lana made for you seven months ago. Did you ever wonder how she got her hands on a video camera after she woke from a deep coma?"

* * *

**Author's Note: I know it wasn't a lot, but I promise I'll be updating way sooner than last time. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	14. Tangled Web of Lies

**Author's Note: You all must hate me. I'm going to finish this story no matter what. I promise! Real life kind of caught up with me, and things have been pretty difficult for the past couple of months. But I **_**will**_** finish this story. Thank you for sticking with this and for continuing to leave amazing reviews.**

**Also, I've received some concern that Clark will turn around and get back into a relationship with Lana. I promise that this will not happen. This is a Clois story all the way through. Clois will be endgame! With that said, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Tess Mercer was evil.

That was all Lois could think as she glared at the woman across the table from her. Poor Clark looked like he didn't know what to do as he gaped at her. Finally, he managed to form a response.

"You mean… it was a lie? All of it?"

Tess glanced at Lois before she nodded her head. Lois bit down on her bottom lip and wished that she was anywhere else but here right now. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Things were already messed up, but to find out about the DVD… it was just too much.

Clark slammed his fist down on the counter. "And it was because of you, wasn't it?" he demanded, his voice rising. He was looking for someone to be angry with, and Tess was an easy target.

Tess held her hands up. "I didn't know what Lex was doing, Clark. If I had known… I wouldn't have helped. I swear to you."

Clark glared at her. "I don't know how to feel about anything you say anymore."

"Clark." Lois stepped forward then and put a tentative hand on his arm. He relaxed immediately at her touch. "I'm not usually one to be the voice of reason, but you need to calm down. We're not going to find Lana if you beat up on Mercer. Much as I might want to," she couldn't resist adding.

Lana might not have been Lois's favorite person, but she was important to both Clark and Chloe. And since Chloe and Clark were important to Lois, she was willing to help them find their friend. Clark needed something to hold on to right now. And if Lois had to be the sane one and the voice of reason, she would do it.

Clark stared looked at Lois and then down at the hand she had on his arm. Then he looked up at Tess, his eyes narrowing into a withering glare. There was another tense moment of silence before he pushed his chair back and stood up, leaving the apartment with a resounding door slam behind him.

* * *

Hours later, when Lois had been sitting with Chloe at the house, Clark burst into the kitchen and pointed an accusing finger at the blonde.

"You knew. You knew, and you didn't tell me?"

Lois gave Clark an alarmed look. "Whoa, Smallville! Let's back down on the Spanish Inquisition, now shall we?"

Clark ignored her and just continued to stare Chloe down. She held her hands up and had a truly confused look on her face. "Okay, so now I'm keeping secrets that I didn't know I was keeping?"

"Lana," Clark clarified. "Why didn't you tell me that you talked to her?"

"Chloe," Lois immediately admonished. What was with all of the secret-keeping? Why couldn't any of them just be honest with each other?

Chloe now had a look of understanding on her face. "She asked me not to tell you," she said simply. "So I didn't."

Clark glared at Chloe so fiercely that Lois thought lasers might shoot out of his eyes. "Well, it looks like whatever secrets you were keeping for her might have ended up getting her kidnapped."

Chloe didn't look particularly alarmed by this little tidbit of information. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defensively. "Lana can take care of herself, Clark. She asked me not to tell you, and I had to respect that."

"Lana isn't like me!" Clark exploded. "I can—" He stopped abruptly and looked for a split second over at Lois. It was so fast that she almost missed it. Watching as Clark fumbled to try and finish his sentence, Lois's eyes slowly narrowed in a glare at him.

"I can take care of myself," he finally said. "She can't. Not like I can." He sat down at the kitchen table across from Lois and Chloe, but his eyes remained on the blonde. "Now tell me everything that you know."

Chloe stared at him before she looked at Lois. Finally, she took a deep breath. "Fine. But you should know that it wasn't exactly a social call."

"What do you mean?"

Lois almost had to literally bite her tongue in order not to ask questions as Clark and Chloe continued volleying questions and answers at each other. She was a reporter. It was her job to ask questions and demand answers. At the same time, she didn't want to re-alert either Chloe or Clark to her presence. She didn't want them make her leave, or tell her that she wasn't allowed to know. It was painful, but Lois managed to stay quiet.

"She came back to find out more information about Project Ares," Chloe finally revealed. "Look, I hadn't meant to get her into any trouble by keeping her secrets. I even looked into Ares myself. The project was shut down over a year ago."

Clark nodded his head. "Tess told me that Lana was looking into technology that could keep Lex alive. She thinks that Lex is the one who abducted her."

Chloe's brow furrowed. "Since when do you trust anything that Tess has to say?"

"Since she told me everything. She even told me that Lana made the DVD while she was held at gunpoint by Lex's men."

Apparently, Chloe hadn't forgotten that Lois was there. She looked over at her cousin at Clark's revelation. Lois looked down at the kitchen table and refused to make eye contact with her. She hadn't even begun to sort out her own feelings on the matter yet. She definitely wasn't about to talk to Chloe about it. And certainly not while Clark was within earshot.

"Let's head to the Isis Foundation," Chloe said. "We might be able to find out something more there."

"Fine," Clark said curtly. It appeared that he hadn't forgotten that Lois's presence, either. He looked down at her, his eyes softening. "Lois, would you mind waiting here? I called Oliver, and he should be over soon. I told him that someone would be here to meet him, and I don't really know how long Chloe and I will be."

Lois opened her mouth to protest. She wasn't about to stay here and just _wait_ around while Chloe and Clark ran off to play hero. That was complete and utter crap, and they both knew it. She was just as much a part of this as they were, now.

Clark, sensing Lois's anger, headed off her verbal attack by saying, "Lois, you're still healing. You can't be running around, and we have no idea where we'll be going or what we'll be doing. You just re-opened your back with everything that happened with Detective Jones. You don't need to injure yourself further."

Lois huffed out a breath of annoyance. She hated when he was right. "Fine," she grumbled darkly. Then she pointed at him. "But you should know that that excuse won't work forever, Smallville!"

Clark actually cracked a smile. "I know," he said. He put a hand lightly on her shoulder. "It would help us a lot if you filled Oliver in on what was happening when he got here."

"I'm not five years old, Clark. You don't need to placate me with menial jobs."

Clark pulled his hand back from Lois's shoulder and looked over at Chloe. Lois rolled her eyes. She was getting pretty tired of their secret, unreadable glances.

"I'm sorry," Clark finally said. Then he and Chloe disappeared out the door.

* * *

Thankfully, Lois didn't have to wait very long for Oliver to show up. He came right into the house without knocking and looked kind of surprised when he found Lois waiting on the couch for him. He took off his jacket and sat next to her.

"What's up, Lane?" he said after a long moment.

Lois snorted before she said in a forced pleasant voice, "Oh, not much Oliver. I'm just here to play messenger bird between you and Clark and Chloe. You know, the usual."

Oliver sighed. "Lois—"

"No, Oliver!" Lois stood up and glared at the man still sitting on the couch. "This is bullshit, and you know it! What the hell is going on, and why is everyone so insistent that I don't know about it?"

Oliver sighed again and stood up, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Lois. Take a deep breath and sit down," he ordered. Lois simply glared at him and crossed her arms. Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it was worth a try."

"I'm serious, Oliver. What the hell is going on? Why would anyone kidnapped Lana? What do they all want with her so badly?"

Oliver's lips tilted up in the barest hint of a smirk. "You really don't like her, do you?"

Lois looked at him with wide eyes. "She's not my favorite person at the moment, no," she said after a moment of deliberation.

"Was there ever a time when you actually liked her?"

"I…" Lois made a noise of frustration and threw her hands up in the air. "Look, I don't hate her, okay? But it's never like we were friends. The only reason I know so much about her is because Clark has been pining away for her for the past eight years. It makes it really hard to—" She choked herself off abruptly, and Oliver raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Wanna finish that little thought, Lane?"

Lois scowled at him and flopped back down on the couch. "Just tell me what the hell is going on."

Oliver sat back down next to her once again. "Chloe called me on the way over here—"

"Oh great," Lois grumbled. "Those liars didn't even need me here, then."

Oliver went on as if he hadn't heard her. "—and she told me a little bit of what she and Clark found. Apparently, Lana has gotten into some technology that she really shouldn't be messing with. I mean, she _literally_ got into it."

Lois nodded her head slowly. The meaning of Oliver's words were not lost on her. "Chloe said that Lana had been researching Project Ares. That has something to do with alien DNA, right?" Lois had done her fair share of digging into LuthorCorp's secret projects. She knew a little bit of what was going on in there.

Oliver nodded his head. "Exactly. But they've expanded on it. It's called Project Prometheus."

Lois's head tilted thoughtfully at the name. "Prometheus was the guy who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans. He messed with powers that he shouldn't have had."

"You know your stuff, Lane," Oliver said, impressed.

Lois shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a reporter. It's my job to know things. Now continue with your story."

"Right. Well, it's pretty much this suit that gives the wearer super powers. You know… Blur-like powers."

Lois's eyes widened once again. "And _Lana_ is wearing it?"

Oliver's head nodded in confirmation. "Sounds like it."

Unexpected anger boiled up in Lois. "Where the hell does she get off thinking that she can have powers like that? Where does _anyone_ get the idea that they can handle that? Does she think that she _deserves_ it, or something? Why does she even want to wear that crazy suit?"

Oliver held his hands up at Lois's outburst. He suddenly looked very uncomfortable, and Lois knew that he knew something that she didn't. They all did. "Well… that's something that you'd have to ask her, I guess." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at Lois.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I gave up on trying to figure out Lana Lang a long time ago. Can you answer just one more question for me, Oliver?"

Oliver gave her a wary look before nodding his head. "Okay…"

"What's going on with Clark?"

She asked the question without hesitation, and Oliver knew that it wasn't the 'what's-going-on-with-Clark-right-now' kind of question. It was then that he knew that Lois was busy putting all the pieces together. She was beginning to figure it out, and she wanted to know _everything_.

"Look, Lois," Oliver began carefully. The last thing he wanted was for her to flip out on him again. "That's a question that you're going to have ask to Clark, because he's the only one who can really tell you. But I will tell you this."

Lois leaned forward, and—not for the first time—Oliver wondered why Clark hadn't told her yet. Lois had somehow managed to become Clark's rock; the one thing that kept him grounded through all of the crazy things. In Oliver's opinion, Clark was severely misguided if he thought he was protecting Lois by keeping her in the dark.

"Clark is… different, Lois. He's just… he's a special guy."

Lois watched him for a long moment. Finally, she said, "I already knew that."

* * *

**Author's Note: Once again, I'd just like to reassure everyone that this will not turn into Clark and Lana having a relationship. And Oliver and Lois won't have a relationship, either (just in case it was looking that way). I always thought that it would be kind of cool if Oliver and Lois had a big brother/little sister type of relationship. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	15. Glowing Green Rocks

**Author's Note: Hey, it's only been a month since I last updated! That's way better than before! :) I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with the story and leaving amazing reviews. They really inspire me to continue with this story!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Olive Queen was quite please with himself.

Really, it was pretty brilliant that he had purchased controlling power at LuthorCorp. Now it would be much easier for them to keep an eye what Tess, and by association Lex, was doing. This was one of the best ideas he had had in a while.

And that's exactly what he was bragging about as he spoke on his cell phone to Lois outside the board room. The Board of Directors were currently behind those doors, arguing with this new bit of information. "You should hear them going at it, Lois. They're furious." He laughed, because it was just too good.

After their talk the night before, Oliver had decided to stop keeping things from Lois. It was just ridiculous. She knew all of them; she was bound to get involved sooner or later. Oliver would rather that Lois knew everything she could so that she would be prepared, as opposed to going into a situation blindly.

On the other end of the line, Lois laughed. She was stuck at the farm, so she was glad that Oliver had taken time after his meeting to call her. She was bored out of her mind with Clark or Chloe to amuse her. "It sounds like you're having a grand old time over there, Ollie."

"I really am. I—" He stopped talking abruptly. After a tense, silent moment, he said, "Hold on, Lois."

Lois sat up straight on the couch. "Oliver," she said, but it seemed that he had pulled the phone from his ear and couldn't hear her anymore.

Lois tried not to panic, but then she heard Oliver shout "Everybody down!" What could only be described as a loud explosion sounded on the other end of the phone. Then the line went dead.

Cursing loudly, Lois dialed Clark's number with shaking fingers. She pressed the phone tightly to her ear as it rang… and continued to ring. "God damn it, Clark! Pick up!"

It went to his voice mail. She couldn't waste anymore time trying to call him again, so she called Chloe. If her cousin didn't pick up, then she had no idea who she would call. She found herself fervently praying that Chloe would answer the phone.

After the fourth ring, she did. "Hey, Lois. What's up?"

Lois didn't waste her time with any preamble. "Oliver is hurt!"

"…What?"

"I was on the phone with Oliver and something happened! It sounded like an explosion!" Lois jumped up and off of the couch, going for her jacket. She grabbed her car keys and went right out the door. It might take her a little bit to get to the city, but she would get there, damn it. "You have to call Clark, or something. I tried to call him, but he didn't pick up."

She heard Chloe let out a quick curse and then heard her scramble from wherever she was. "Okay. Maybe you should stay at the farm, Lois. I'll go find Clark, and you just—"

"Screw that!" Lois was already driving down the road. "I'm not just going to sit by if Oliver is hurt! I'm going into Metropolis now. I should be at the hospital by the time they get there."

There was a long pause before Chloe said, "Just be careful, okay?"

While Lois appreciated her cousin's worry, she was more concerned for Oliver at the moment. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Clark took a sip of his coffee. Lana did the same, smiling at him from across the table. They were currently in a café after spending all night running around the city. Seeing as how Lana somehow managed to fuse a super suit to her skin, Clark had thought it would be a good idea to explain her new abilities to her.

He had the feeling that she was hoping for a little bit more than that, but she didn't say anything, so neither did he. Given everything that he had just found out, he wasn't entirely sure if he was comfortable with jumping right back into a relationship. And he felt just weird now, knowing that Lana did all of this because of him. Or he was at least part of the reason.

Lana took another sip of her coffee. "Listen, Clark," she said. "I was thinking. Now that things are different… now that we're the same… I was thinking that—"

Before Lana could finish, Chloe ran up to them. The two occupants at the table looked up at the blonde woman in surprise. She was wearing a look of absolute panic on her face, her hand tightly clutching her cell phone as she panted from the exertion of running.

"Chloe? Are you okay?" Clark asked.

Chloe shook her head. "No. Lois called."

Without waiting for Chloe to finish, Clark jumped up from the table. His coffee got knocked over, but he didn't care. "Why? What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"She's okay," Chloe said. "But Oliver isn't. There was an explosion at LuthorCorp."

* * *

They were careful when they arrived at the hospital. Chloe had given them the heads-up that Lois was already there, so they didn't speed into the room. When they got there, Clark and Lana saw that Oliver was already awake and Lois was parked by his bedside.

"Hey, Oliver," Clark said. "How are feeling?"

Oliver lifted a shoulder. "Like I've gotten blown up."

"The only reason he's alive right now is because the table protected him," Lois said. She shook her head. "I don't even understand how this happened."

Lana gave a little snort. "I can think of one person who would do this. Lex."

Clark ran a hand through his hair. "We should check out the board room." When Oliver nodded his head in agreement, Lana grabbed Clark's hand.

"Come on, Clark," she said. "Let's go."

"Hold on a second," Oliver said. He looked over at Lois before a smirk came on his face. "Take Lois with you."

Clark and Lana blinked before they said in unison, "_What?_"

Lana was glaring at Lois and trying to make it seem like it wasn't obvious. Clark, on the other hand, was glaring at Oliver like he was going to rip him in half. Lois was pretending not to see either of them, and Oliver just had a shit-eating smirk on his face.

"Yeah," he said in an innocent tone. "Lois would be good for your investigation. She's a great reporter, so she's really good at finding things. I'm sure an extra pair of eyes would help, anyway."

Lois stood up and pulled her jacket back on. "Chloe is coming to sit with Ollie. I don't have a problem going with you guys to check the board room out." Her eyes connected with Clark's, and she dared him to say something.

Clark knew that there was no getting out of this one. "Alright," he finally said. "Just stay close. For my sanity, please?"

Lois grinned at him. "Would I do anything different?"

Clark shook his head. "I'm not going to answer that question."

* * *

"Clark, are you sure that this is a really good idea?" Lana said through barely parted lips. They were walking slightly behind Lois. With their super hearing, they could barely talk and still hear each other.

Clark gave Lana a sharp look. "Yes, I'm sure. Lois will be fine."

Lois looked over her shoulder at them. "Is everything okay?" she asked darkly. They had arrived at the building, and, among all the chaos, found that it was easy to get into the building and then the board room.

"Yeah," Clark said. He cleared his throat, because the feeling in the room had just become incredibly awkward. "Everything is just fine. Are you sure that you'll be okay looking through all of this?"

She glared at him. Lois actually glared at him. "Yes. I'll be fine."

"Just don't lift anything too heavy," Clark said. "I don't want you to hurt your back even more."

For some reason, her glare melted away a little bit and Lana glared at him. "Okay," Lois said quietly.

They began to search through the debris for several long, silent minutes. As Clark shifted another large piece of the ceiling, pain shot through him. He dropped the ceiling and backed away from the spot.

"Clark!" Lois and Lana both saw him, but Lois got to him first. She put a hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Clark said. He looked at Lana and mouthed the word 'kryptonite.' She nodded her head and went to search the area. Lois, with one hand still on his back, looked over to see what Lana was looking at.

She tried to hide it, but Lois saw it. "What is that green stuff?" she exclaimed. She looked over at Clark, who winced when it was revealed. "Clark, is this what made you sick?" She stepped away from him and bent over to inspect it more closely. "Wait a second. I've seen this around Smallville before."

Lana was still burying through the debris, and she touched something else. The glowing green of the rock disappeared, and Lana pulled a computer chip of some sort from the mess. She held it up into the light so they could all see it better.

Clark was obviously better, and he stood up a little straighter and nodded his head at Lana. He took the chip from her and looked down at it. His eyes widened when he recognized part of the logo on it.

"Queen Industries," he said.

"What?" Lois tripped over a piece of the wall in her haste to get over to Clark. She grabbed onto his arm to catch himself as she bent to look at the chip. "There is no way that there was a chip from Queen Industries in that explosive. Oliver wouldn't try to blow himself up."

"Maybe it was an inside job," Lana suggested. "Or maybe he's just not telling us something."

Clark turned the chip over in his hands. "Why would Oliver try to hide something from us?"

"Didn't it seem like he was trying to hide something?" Lana said. "At the hospital, I mean. He was pretty quick to get rid of all of us at the hospital."

Lois glared at Lana so fiercely that Clark thought holes were going to melt through her head—and he was the one with heat vision. She put her hands on her hips and whipped around to face the raven-haired woman.

"Oliver's not trying to hide anything from us," she snapped.

"He's done it before." Lana turned to face Clark. "When he found me, Oliver was trying to hunt down Lex to kill him."

Lois blinked in surprise while Clark's jaw set. He shook his head as he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I talked him out of it, but I guess it didn't work. He seems to have his own plan." Lana shrugged her shoulders. "We all have our secrets."

Lois shook her head. "Well, maybe we should show it to him and let him explain."

Clark tightened his fist around the chip and tried not to crush it to dust. "I don't think we can trust Oliver anymore."

Lois made a scoffing noise and pushed Clark's shoulder. "Are you kidding me? Oliver is supposed to be your friend. You can't just say that about him!"

"He went behind my back," Clark said. "He didn't tell me what he was planning on doing."

Lois threw her hands up in the air. "Look, I don't even pretend to understand what you're all doing. It just makes my brain hurt, quite frankly. But I'm getting fed up with the way you're acting. Stop hiding your stupid secrets from each other. It's not going to help anyone if you don't tell Oliver what's going on. What if someone tried to kill him, huh? I bet you'd feel like crap if something happened to him because you didn't tell him anything."

Clark was staring at Lois with his mouth completely open. Somehow, Lois was completely changing the way he did things. And he didn't really think that he minded.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all liked this chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	16. Finally Facing the Truth

**Author's Note: I know there wasn't a whole lot of Clois interaction in the last chapter, but I'm about to turn it up, so get ready! Thanks for all of the amazing reviews last chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

Clark Kent's heart was heavy.

Lana smiled as she reached into the small wooden box and pulled out her little green necklace. She held it up before turning to Clark, holding it out so he could see it.

"I can't believe that you've kept this after all these years," she said.

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "It's your necklace, Lana," he said. "I figured that you might be back for it eventually."

She looked up at him with wide eyes and stepped closer. "You knew that I was coming back?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders again and suddenly felt a lot more uncomfortable. "You couldn't stay away forever, right?" he said.

"I came back for you, Clark," Lana said. "And now that I have his suit… we can be together, now. You don't have to worry about me anymore. There's nothing that can come between us."

But there was, wasn't there? As soon as Lana had spoken her last statement, Lois's face flashed through Clark's mind. He had been thinking about her more and more—and especially since Lana had come back. He should have been happy that Lana Lang was back, right? He had spent seven years pining after her. And she was right, too. She was just like him now, and there shouldn't be anything holding him back.

But there was. There was something holding Clark back. There would always be a place in his heart for Lana. She was his first love, after all. But since she had left, since everything that had happened… since _Lois_… he had found that his feelings for Lana just weren't like they were before.

Four years ago, Lois had blown into his life when Chloe had been missing. And ever since then, she had been a constant—if somewhat annoying—presence. And then, somewhere over that time, she had become less annoying and more… more of something else. Something that Clark couldn't put his finger on until now.

He loved Lois Lane.

A smile formed on his lips as he thought of her smiling face. He thought of her determination and her beauty and how smart she was. She never sugar coated anything for him and told it to him exactly as it was. So it wasn't a surprise to him when he noticed that Lois had been pulling away and holding herself back. And it had been because Lana had returned.

Lois was stepping back, allowing Clark to have that chance again with Lana. But what she didn't know was that Clark didn't want that chance. What he wanted was a chance with Lois. It made him feel like an idiot, thinking about how long it took him to realize his feelings. But he was going to prove it to her. Because he had a feeling that she loved him just as much as he loved her.

Lana had seen Clark smiling, and she was smiling now, too. But then Clark started to slowly shake his head, and he took another step back from Lana. He broke whatever was between them, finally. But it had already been broken for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Lana," he said.

Lana's face fell immediately. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"What do you mean, _you can't_?"

Clark shook his head again. "Things have changed between us, Lana, and I think you know that. We can't go back to the way things were before. You've changed. I've changed. Things can't be the same."

Lana's brow was now furrowing into a dark glare. "You're right, Clark," she said. "Things won't be like the way they were before, because they'll be _better_. I know your secret. I'm like you now. We don't need to hide anymore."

"Lana, they can't be better because I don't feel that way about you anymore!"

"…What?"

Clark sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. "I'll never forget you, Lana. And I'll never forget what happened between us. It may have taken me a while, but… I've moved on." He made himself look at her. "You think that everything can be okay just because you have powers like me now. That doesn't make everything better, Lana."

Lana clenched the end of the desk so hard that it crumbled to dust in her fingers. Clark winced but didn't say anything. She finally looked up at him, her eyes flashing. "It's because of Lois, isn't it?"

Clark stood up a little bit straighter. "Not that it's any of your business, but Lois is a part of it."

"How—"

"I love her."

There was a long moment of tense silence as Clark's words hung in the air between them. Lana didn't deserve to be lied to, so he wasn't going to lie to her. And he certainly wasn't going to lead her on. Whatever this was with Lana had to end, because it was the only way that he could ever be with Lois.

Finally, Lana spoke. "How? She doesn't know."

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "I'll tell her."

"You won't. It took you years to tell me, Clark."

It was true. He wanted to protect Lois, but if he wanted to be with her, then he had to tell her. He was going to do this right. No more lies. "I'm not saying that I'm going to walk right up to her and tell her. But I will."

"She's not like me, Clark."

"You weren't like me, either. Up until a few days ago, anyway."

"So what? You want Lois to find another super suit and fuse it to her skin? That's a real smart idea."

"No. I would never ask Lois to do what you did. Just like I didn't ask you to do it, Lana." Clark stood up to his full height and began to walk towards the door of the barn. He was done with this conversation. "If you want to help, then help, Lana. I'm not going to stop you. But you have to do it my way. And I love Lois. Don't try to push us apart. I won't let you."

* * *

"How are things going with Clark?"

Lois sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She shifted in her seat a little bit and turned to face Oliver more fully. She had been parked next to his bedside for the past hour, and the remnants of their lunch were on the tray between them.

A nurse came into the room and started bustling around, checking on Oliver's vitals and removing the trash that was on the tray between them. Neither Oliver or Lois paid the nurse any attention as he went about his work.

"They're okay… I guess," she said. "He still disappears for hours at a time with Lana. But I just… I don't know anymore."

Oliver peered at his friend closely. He had always been routing for Lois and Clark. Even their names sounded good together. He was just worried that Clark was going to mess this whole thing up because Lana was back.

"You love him, don't you?" Oliver said.

Lois jerked in her seat and looked at him with wide eyes. "_What?_"

Oliver smirked. "You love Clark." When Lois opened her mouth, Oliver rolled his eyes. "Don't even bother to protest, Lane. I saw you at Chloe's wedding with him. The looks you were giving him could practically set the room on fire. The same thing could be said about the look that he was giving you."

Lois looked up at him, and her eyes went even wider. She swallowed hard before she nodded her head. "I love Clark," she whispered. It had been the first time that she had actually said the words out loud, and it felt… good.

Oliver chuckled. "Way to go, Lane. I'm glad you're finally realizing what the rest of us all knew."

Lois finally cracked a smile and opened her mouth to say something. Suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

When Oliver opened his eyes again, he found himself tied to his bed.

Feeling disoriented, he looked around and found Lois handcuffed to the bed next to him, still slumped over in her chair. She was still unconscious, and he nudged her with his shoulder.

"Lois. Hey, Lois, wake up."

Lois jerked awake and looked over at Oliver. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she went to sit up, but found that she really couldn't when she realized that her hands were cuffed to the railing of the bed. She pulled at them, but when that didn't do anything, she looked down at Oliver again.

"What the hell?"

"Oh, yay! I'm so glad that you're awake!"

Oliver and Lois both looked towards the front of the room. Lois just looked confused at whomever it was, but Oliver's eyes narrowed in a dark glare. Anger rushed through him at the thought of Lois being involved in this just because she had come to visit him.

"Winslow Schott," he muttered.

Lois gave him an alarmed look before she glared at their unwanted visitor. "The guy who set the bomb at LuthorCorp off?"

Oliver nodded his head slowly. "That would be the one." Her jerked against his restraints again and felt a small amount of relief when one of his hands slipped. He hadn't been handcuffed to the bed like Lois had. Winslow had just tied him down with some rope.

"How does it feel, Oliver Queen?" Winslow demanded. "How does it feel not to be in control?"

"I don't care what beef you have with me, Schott," Oliver snapped. "But let Lois go. She's not involved in any of this."

Lois glared down at him. "You're crazy if you think that I'm going to leave you here with this psycho all by yourself—"

Winslow cut Lois off. "Nah, I think I'll keep her here." He reached out to touch Lois's hair, but she shifted away from him with a little hiss of anger. She might have been handcuffed to the bed, but there was no way in hell that she was going to let that man touch her.

Winslow cackled and pulled something out from behind his back. "I have a little toy for you, Mr. Queen."

* * *

Chloe rushed into the house, panting because she had been running so hard. Sometimes, she wished that she had Clark's super speed. It would have made her life a lot easier. Thankfully, she quickly found Clark in the kitchen. He looked up at her, completely alarmed when she ran into the room.

"Chloe?"

Chloe tried to catch her breath so she could speak. "We have a problem, Clark."

Clark stood up, ready to go wherever he was needed. "What's wrong?"

"Winslow Schott has captured Lois and Oliver."

A feeling of utter horror spread throughout Clark. No. This was not happening. He couldn't lose Lois before he ever actually had her.

* * *

**Author's Note: So remember when I said that I would turn up the Clois? Well, I didn't mean to slap you all in the face with it! This might not have been exactly what you all had in mind, but I plan on stretching this episode out. There will definitely be a ton of face-to-face Clois interaction. Thanks for reading!**


	17. The Other Truth

**Author's Note: Wow! The response to last chapter was so amazing. I'm so glad that you all enjoyed it. Here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Oliver Queen was feeling pretty impressed with himself.

It definitely wasn't one of his more fantastic escapes, but it had been pretty good. He had knocked out Schott with one hand, disabled the bomb, and freed Lois. Not bad, for only the space of a few minutes.

Lois was helping him handcuff Schott to the bed. She had been kind of pissed that she hadn't gotten the chance to knock Schott out, but Oliver had pointed out that she had been handcuffed to the bed while he had only been tied to it. Luckily for them, Schott had only one pair of handcuffs and had figured that Oliver wouldn't have been much of a challenge injured.

"So what now?" Lois asked. She yanked on the handcuffs just for the satisfaction of knowing that he Schott was stuck to the bed. "I mean, we can't just leave him here without telling anyone."

"Oh yes we can," Oliver said. "We can—"

Oliver was cut off abruptly when the door to the room was slammed open and Clark appeared in a blur of color. Lois's eyes were immediately on him as she gave him a startled look, but both Oliver and Clark saw her eyes light up with realization.

Clark and Lois continued to stare at each other as they both tried to figure out what to say. Neither could seem to find any words at all. Oliver looked between the two of them, and the first words that came to his mind escaped without him thinking about it.

He couldn't stop himself from laughing. "Holy shit!"

Oliver's exclamation pulled Clark from his stupor. He cleared his throat and looked over to the bed, where Schott was still unconscious. "So… I see you both have this under control."

"Yup," Oliver said. He was thoroughly amused by this situation and had no problem showing it. He was sure that Clark would get him back later. Whatever. It was definitely worth it. "You were a little late for this one, actually. Don't tell me that you're getting soft, Clark!"

Clark gave Oliver a mildly exasperated look and then turned to Lois. "Uh… I can explain," he finally muttered.

Lois raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." She was pretty impressed with herself for keeping a straight face. In reality, she was beyond excited that her suspicions—which had begun when Clark had gone undercover with the Metropolis Police Department—had been right. And true, she was kind of kicking herself for not noticing it sooner. There had probably been plenty of times that she probably could have figured it out. The point was, she knew now… and all because Clark had slipped up for some reason.

Clark, meanwhile, couldn't believe himself. He had been so worried that something had happened to Lois that he had run into the room without thought. After all this time, he had finally slipped up. And this time, there was no way for them to go back in time to hide it again. He found himself glad. This may not have been the way that he wanted to tell her, but Clark was glad that Lois now knew.

Clark and Lois continued to stare at each other. Oliver rolled his eyes and clapped his hands together. "Alright. I suggest that we get a move on. We can leave Schott to be… whatever, and we can get the hell out of here and figure out what to do next."

Lois nodded her head. "Sounds like a plan."

Oliver snorted as he and Clark let Lois walk out first. "Like I have a plan. I was just totally winging this."

* * *

Oliver had begged out of going back to the farm with them. He escaped as fast as he could, leaving Clark cursing under his breath. In the end, he supposed it was a good thing because he and Lois needed to have this talk without a third party. Oliver, on the other hand, wanted to get the hell out of dodge. There were several ways that conversation could end, and Oliver didn't want to be around for any of it.

Once they had gotten into the house, Clark had insisted on checking Lois's back. Being handcuffed to a bed couldn't have been too comfortable. He was glad that her wounds had mostly closed up at this point, since that meant they were less likely to open when Lois got into trouble.

Lois unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it off, leaving her only in a thin tank top. Clark sat behind her on the couch and gently rolled her tank top up. He peeled her bandages off and lightly ran his fingers around the slashes across her back. They really were healing nicely, but they were sure to leave scars. Clark got some new bandages and quickly covered the injuries back up.

Lois turned to face him but didn't put her blouse back on. Clark cleared his throat and tried not to be distracted by the tank top. He forced his eyes to focus on her face (because now was definitely not the time to revert back to a hormonal sixteen year old boy) and turned to face her more.

"We need to talk," Clark stated.

Lois nodded her head. "Yeah, we do… Red-Blue Blur."

It was the first time Lois had said that name in reference to Clark. He gave her a sheepish look and held his hands up. "Surprise?"

To Clark's surprise, Lois laughed. But what else could she do? She had known Clark for almost five years, and she hadn't known that he had all of these super powers. It was amazing, and everything, but sitting in front of him now, she could only see him as… Clark.

Clark rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I'm the Red-Blue Blur."

Lois just shook her head and smiled at him when a sudden thought occurred to her. She gasped and punched him hard. She was kind of surprised when he didn't wince like he normally did, but she guessed that it didn't actually affect him when she hit him. Instead, he just raised an eyebrow.

"What was that for?" he asked with slight amusement in his voice.

Lois glared at him. "All of those times I spent pining over the Red-Blue Blur, and you didn't say anything? Clark, do you have any idea how ridiculous I feel right now? I sounded like some lovesick teenager!"

Clark chuckled, even though he knew it might get him into some trouble. "I was actually very flattered," he admitted. His eyes connected with hers and his voice lowered. "I liked it."

Lois's cheeks blushed a faint pink, surprising Clark yet again. She shifted in her seat and ran a hand through her hair, brushing it away from her face and neck and exposing her shoulders. Clark found himself trying not to stare once again. He had noticed all of these things about Lois before and had constantly pushed it to the back of his mind. Finally admitting out loud that he loved her had opened up all sorts of doors, and now he didn't have a problem admiring and imagining certain things. But it wasn't the time for that sort of thing.

"Yeah… well…" Lois punched him again. Even though it didn't affect him didn't mean that it didn't help her relieve some stress.

"You know, you might break your hand if you punch me hard enough," Clark said mildly.

Lois looked at her closed fist and then at Clark. "Really?"

He shrugged his shoulders, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Maybe."

Lois opened her fist and swatted at his chest, figuring she was less likely to hurt her hand that way. Another chuckle escaped Clark, and she found herself smiling in return. Having finally admit that she loved him just made it so much easier to be around Clark. And now that she knew about everything he could do, she just felt that much closer to him. Speaking of…

"Clark… Now that I know, are you and Chloe and Oliver and Lana going to constantly try to keep things from me? I mean, I know that I just joined the super hero club, but I think that I have enough experience on my resume to know all of the top secret stuff." She might know the secret, but Lois part of Lois was honestly worried about the fact that they might keep pushing her out.

Clark reached forward and took one of her hands in both of his. "No," he said firmly. "Lois, I decided a while ago that I was going to tell you everything. I shouldn't keep secrets from you. It was really only a matter of figuring out how to tell you."

"I guess running into the room in a… well… blur might not have been the most conventional way, but it was definitely the easiest." Lois tilted her head, a question in her eyes. "You're normally so careful about that, otherwise I'm sure I would have figured it out sooner. Why the sudden change?"

Clark took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to admit some other things, too. If there was one thing that he had discovered in life, it was that holding back could only lead to heartache and pain. And he had had enough of that in his life to last for several lifetimes.

His hand tightened around hers. "Lois, Chloe told me that you and Oliver had been captured by Schott. When I heard, I was so worried."

Her brow furrowed. Lois heard what he was saying, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions and think that he was only speaking about her. "Well of course. I mean, you work with Oliver. He's the Green Arrow, and you had to save him because he helps you—"

Clark shook his head. "No. I mean, yes, I was worried about Oliver, too, but…" He took her other hand and squeezed again. Lois looked down at their hands and then back up at him, her eyes wide. "Lois, I was scared out of mind that something would happen to you."

Lois said the first thing that came to her mind. "I can take care of myself, you know." But even as she spoke, she squeezed his hands in return. It touched something in her heart to know that Clark was so concerned for her safety. Instead of being annoyed by it, Lois found that she actually… liked it.

Clark laughed this time, his lips spreading into a full grin. "I know you can, Lois." Then, his eyes softened and he slowly reached out a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek. "But that doesn't stop me from worrying."

Lois's heart thumped loudly in her ears. "Clark—"

But Lois didn't get a chance to speak. Clark simply pulled her forward and covered her mouth with his.

* * *

**Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Again! Now the real Clois stuff has officially begun! :) Thanks for reading, and let me know what you all think!**


	18. The New Relationship

**Author's Note: As always, thank you for the reviews! This is a pretty fluffy chapter, but I thought there could be another break before the action started up again. Also… this week it's my birthday so I'd love to hear from you guys! :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Lois Lane was astonished.

For all of two seconds, anyway.

She wrapped her arms around Clark's neck and eagerly returned his kiss. He shifted, pulling her closer to him and pressing one hand to the small of her back while the other threaded through her hair. They kissed slowly, deeply for several long moments before they needed to break apart for air. But they didn't stop, though. Clark attached his lips to Lois's neck, and she tilted her head back. A gasp followed by a quiet moan escaped her lips when his hand snuck under thin tank top.

She felt Clark smile against her neck as he bit down on her pulse point a little bit. Lois gasped again. Who knew that Clark could be so… so… Lois couldn't even think of a good adjective, she was getting so hot and bothered.

Clark kissed his way back up her throat. They smiled at each other before his lips came down over hers once again. They shared another deep, passionate kiss before breaking apart. Clark pulled Lois into a hug, holding her close as he buried his face in her neck.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Clark mumbled as he pressed a soft kiss under her jaw.

"Really?" The word escaped Lois before she could think about it.

Clark pulled away from Lois just enough to look into her eyes. He brushed her bangs off of her forehead. "Of course."

"But I thought… Lana…"

"No. No, Lois, no." Clark hugged her tightly, and Lois tightened her arms around him. "Yes, there was a time when I had feelings for Lana. But honestly, it's been years since I truly felt anything for her. Do you want to know why?"

"Enlighten me."

"Because. Lois, you've been constantly on my mind for the past four years. Even when you were driving me insane, you were still all I could think about."

Lois smirked and combed her fingers through his hair. "I've driven you insane, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Clark pushed her forward until she was lying underneath him on the couch. He kissed her neck again. "Completely and totally insane."

"Hmm." Lois hummed a note of approval as he gently tugged on her earlobe. "Then I guess I should let you know that I've wanted to kiss you for a very long time, as well."

Clark grinned. "Really?"

"Really."

* * *

"Here. Taste this."

Clark held out a spoon to Lois. From her spot on the counter, she leaned forward so she could taste the tomato sauce Clark had been making. She pretended to think about it for a moment, just teasing him before she smiled.

"It tastes great, Smallville. Who knew you had such culinary talent?"

Clark smiled as he went to check on the pasta. "I like that."

Lois tilted her head questioningly at him. "Like what?"

"That you call me Smallville."

"Really?" Lois couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her. "I was always under the impression that you hated it."

Clark turned the heat on the pasta but left the sauce on low heat as he walked over to Lois. He put his hands on either side of her, effectively trapping her on the counter. "I've always liked it, actually. I just didn't want you to know that."

"Yeah?" Lois wound her arms around Clark's neck. "And what's changed?"

Clark leaned closer to Lois. "When you call me Smallville, I still feel like the farm boy you met four years ago."

"And you don't feel like that now?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "Not all the time. Sometimes I just feel… different around people."

Lois could sense something much deeper going on in that moment. She put a hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb under his eyes. "Clark, what's going on? Talk to me."

Clark pressed his forehead to her shoulder. "I just… When people find out about my powers, they treat me differently, I guess. My parents never did, of course. But they don't see Clark Kent. They see the super powers."

"Clark." Lois pushed him back just enough so that she could put her hands on either side of his face and tilt it towards hers. "Your powers are really something." She smoothed her hands over his hair as Clark stared into her eyes. "But they don't make you. You're an amazing man. And you would still be that amazing man without your powers."

Clark gave her one of his full-blown, charming smiles. Lois could feel the tension leave his body as he pulled her closer. "Lois," he breathed. His lips came down over hers and his hands slid up her sides. He stepped between her legs and pulled her even closer.

A moan escaped Lois as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They exchanged slow, deep kisses for several long moments. It was so easy to get caught up in one another. In fact, the only sound that could be heard was the other's heavy breathing… and some kind of weird bubbling sound.

Clark and Lois broke apart and turned towards the stove. The sauce was boiling over and dripping down the sides of the pot. One second, Lois was wrapped up in Clark's arms. In another second, he was over at the stove, and the mess of the sauce was already cleaned up. Lois blinked in surprise at the sudden movement, and Clark turned to give her a sheepish smile.

"Wow," Lois finally said. "Faster than the speed of light."

In the blink of an eye, Lois was wrapped back up in Clark's arms. "That sounds about right."

* * *

"Alright. What's going on between the two of you?"

Clark and Lois shared a look before they turned back towards Oliver. They had a respectable amount of space between them, and they had been very careful not to touch each other. They hadn't given any sort of clue to their new relationship, so how could Oliver know anything?

True, Clark had had his hand on Lois's knee all night. And he had been sliding it further and further up her thigh, but Lois had been pretty good at concealing her reactions. (Seriously, though. She had no idea that Clark could be so kinky. He kept giving her these steamy, sultry looks that made Lois just want to drag him into the nearest empty room and have her way with him.)

Finally, Lois spoke. "We don't know what you're talking about, Ollie," she said sweetly.

"Yeah, alright." Oliver shared an amused look with Chloe. "And I'm not an awesome badass."

"You're not," Clark said with a smirk.

"Oh, very funny." Oliver threw a balled up napkin at Clark, but he didn't have a problem catching it and throwing it back. Oliver rubbed the area on his chest that it hit as he scowled at Clark. "How in the hell do you make a napkin hurt?"

"Seriously, though." Chloe studied Lois closely. The brunette squirmed under her cousin's scrutiny; she knew her far too well not to know that something was going on. "The two of you have been smiling way too much. Spill."

Clark and Lois looked at each other once again. It seemed as if neither Oliver nor Chloe were going to let this one go. They couldn't really find a way around this, could they?

"Fine." Lois reached for Clark's hand (the one still on her thigh) and laced their fingers together. She placed them on the tabletop. "Last night, Clark and I… well…"  
Oliver held his hands up. "Okay, we don't need to hear about whatever freaky thing the two of you have been doing."

Lois glared at him. "It's not like that."

"This is pretty new," Clark said. "And we're taking it one day at a time. But I'm happy."

Lois's fingers tightened around Clark's, and she shared a smile with him. "So am I."

Chloe's face finally relaxed. "Then I'm happy for the both of you, too."

Oliver threw his hands up in the air. "It's about freaking time!"

* * *

"That wasn't so bad." Lois snuggled closer to Clark's side on the couch. "Even though they figured it out, I thought it went well."

"Really?" Clark combed his fingers through Lois's hair. "I'm actually kind of afraid of Chloe. I felt that she was glaring daggers at me the entire dinner."

"Oh, she wasn't."

"She's yelled at me about you before. I wouldn't be surprised if she did it again."

"Really?" Lois looked up at Clark's face. "She did?"

"Oh yeah." Clark maneuvered Lois so that she was sitting on his lap. "She told me not to toy with your emotions."

"You haven't. We've just misunderstood each other." Lois combed her fingers through Clark's thick hair. "But I say that we're through with that silliness now, aren't we?"

"We are," Clark agreed. He grinned at her as his lips hovered above hers teasingly. "I'm sorry for everything that I put you through. Especially at the wedding."

"Oh Clark." Lois hugged him tightly. "Even though I was hurt, I understood. I mean, I've never understood your obsession with Lana, but we won't go there right now." Clark chuckled at that, and Lois smiled in return. "You've more than made up for it since then."

"I just—"

"Clark, just don't think about it right now." They still had things to talk about, definitely. But Lois didn't want to ruin the newness of their relationship by discussing all of the bad things before this point in time. They were finally happy together, and it was going to stay that way if Lois Lane had anything to say about it.

Clark finally smiled and pushed Lois back onto the couch cushions. "Then what should I think about?"

"Well… you should think about kissing me," Lois teased. "Because I might change my mind about letting you."

"We can't have that, can we?" And as Clark's lips came down on Lois's, he couldn't help but think that maybe—just maybe—everything would finally be okay.

* * *

**Author's Note: Super fluffy. I think I have cavities now, but I've always loved some fluff. Anyway, I had a question for you guys. Do you want this to be an M-rated story? I can add some smut, but only if you guys want it. If I don't get a response, I'll just assume that no one really wanted it. Let me know! Thanks for reading!**


	19. Playing Games

**Author's Note: Well, it seems like just about everyone is up for some smut! Thanks for the great reviews, everyone. I'll definitely throw some smut in here before this story is over… in fact, it'll start in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Clark Kent was being tortured.

Yeah, he had seen Lois in one of his shirts before. He had seen her in one of his plaid shirts and nothing else. Of course he had been attracted to her then. He had just pushed it to the back of his mind. Now… now, however, he had no reason to hide his reactions. He had spent the better part of the last two days kissing her and touching her (mostly over the clothes, but still). He knew what it felt like now. So it was only reasonable that he would react like this.

Lois Lane was standing in front of him, wearing nothing but one his plaid shirts.

She was trying to kill him.

"Lois," Clark groaned. "That is not fair."

Lois blinked at him innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Clark."

Clark snorted and climbed into the bed. "Sure you don't."

Lois crawled in next to him and curled up into his side as Clark wrapped his arms around her. He combed his fingers through her long, silky hair, and Lois made a little noise of appreciation. Her body melted against his and her hand slid up his chest, under his t-shirt.

Clark groaned again and tightened his grip on Lois. "That's not fair," he repeated.

"What's not fair?"

Clark surprised her by letting out a low growl. "Lois."

She may have enjoyed making out with him and being whatever it was that they were, but that didn't mean that she still didn't get a kick out of pushing his buttons. Lois tilted her head up and gave him a cheeky smile. "Clark."

And before she even knew what had happened, she was on her back and Clark was pressed over her, a smirk on his face. His lips came down over her neck, gently nipping and sucking.

Lois's laugh turned into a breathy moan. "Now _that's_ not fair."

* * *

Clark's cell phone blared loudly in the middle of dinner. Lois snatched it up first and looked at the screen, grinning when she realized who the caller was.

"Lois, who is it?" Clark demanded when she didn't say anything right away. They were still trying to find Schott, and it could have been Oliver or Chloe or any other number of people who were still looking for the toymaker.

"It's your mom!" Lois replied.

Clark relaxed and stood up. "Give me the phone, please."

Lois stood up as well and held the phone away. "Nope." And then she was off, running through the house. Clark blinked in shock at her before he reacted, using his super speed to easily catch up with her. But somewhere on her journey from the kitchen to the living room, Lois had answered the phone.

"Mrs. Kent!" she exclaimed. "How are you?"

She put a hand out against Clark's chest, as if that would stop him. He crossed his arms and pretended to glare at her, but he couldn't really hold the look. His face broke out in a smile as Lois chattered happily with his mother. It suddenly occurred to him how much he had always loved their close relationship.

Without another word, Clark pulled Lois against his chest and kissed her forehead. She smiled up at him and said a quick goodbye to Martha before she handed the phone over. She winked at Clark and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before she went back into the kitchen.

The smile wouldn't leave Clark's face. "Hey, Mom. How are you?"

"Clark Kent, you and Lois are together, aren't you?"

Clark actually pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at it, he was so taken aback by what his mother said. On the other end of the line, Martha waited in patient amusement for her son to answer her question. Clark finally got ahold of himself and put the phone back to his ear.

"Um… well… Mom, you see… Lois and I… We… ah…"

"Clark, I'm your mother. You can't hide anything from me."

She was right, too. "Yes, Mom," Clark finally managed. "Lois and I are together. I think."

Martha's voice was still heavy with amusement. "What do you mean, you think?"

"Well, it's only been two days." Clark rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't really asked her out yet."

"Clark Kent, I know I raised you better than that. You take Lois on a date."

Clark let out a low whistle. "I got the full name twice in one conversation. I must be in some sort of trouble."

He could practically hear the smile in his mother's voice. "Clark, I've been waiting for you and Lois to admit your feelings for one another for years. I just want to make sure that you two get everything you deserve."

"Thanks, Mom," Clark said. He looked towards the kitchen, where he could hear Lois singing a Whitesnake song off key. He walked back into the kitchen and leaned against the doorway. "I'll ask her right now, in fact."

"Good. I love you, Clark."

"I love you too, Mom." Clark hung the phone up and tucked it back into his pocket. At the sound of his voice, Lois stopped her singing and turned to face Clark with wide eyes.

"Clark! I didn't see you there. I—"

"Do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow night?"

Lois stopped talking abruptly. "What?"

Clark rubbed the back of his neck again. "I thought we could go out to dinner. You know, like a… date."

To Clark's relief, a smile spread on Lois's face. "I would really like that." She walked towards him and slid her arms around his neck. "So we're really doing this, then?"

"I want to," Clark said. "Do you want to?"

Lois brushed her lips against his. "I want to."

* * *

"So how are we ending this date, exactly?" Lois joked as she and Clark walked hand-in-hand back up to the house. "I mean, we're both living here, so…"

Clark chuckled. "Well, we could watch a movie. How does that sound?"

"I think it'll be perfect if you get me a slice of cake." Lois kissed his cheek. "I'm going to get changed into my pajamas. I'll be back in a minute."

Clark busied himself with picking out a movie and getting a slice of chocolate cake. He settled himself on the couch and turned the movie on. The couch shifted as Lois took a seat next to him on the couch. He turned towards her and promptly choked on the air he was breathing.

She was wearing another one of his shirts.

Lois just gave him an innocent look and took the plate from him. She pressed up and kissed his cheek again. Her movements revealed some more of her smooth thigh, and Clark swallowed hard. "Thanks. Are you going to start the movie now?"

Clark stared at her as he took a bite of the cake. She licked the fork and he managed to bite back a groan. He scrambled for the remote and played the movie as he sat back and tried to get a grip on his suddenly raging hormones.

It didn't help matters when Lois slung her legs over his lap. She moaned a little when she took another bite of cake. Clark wasn't sure what kind of game she was playing, but he wasn't going to be the first to give. He steadfastly tried to ignore her as he turned his attention back towards the movie.

Lois smirked as she kept making the noises. It was only a few days into her and Clark's relationship, but she was so sure of her feelings for him that… well… she wanted to give everything to him. And honestly, that kind of scared her. It meant that Clark could break her heart easily, but she was pretty sure that he felt the same way that she did.

The feeling of Clark's large, strong hands on her legs ripped Lois from her thoughts. She looked at him with wide eyes, the fork hanging from her lips as Clark rubbed small circles on her knees with his thumbs.

He had totally caught on to her little game.

Clark was looking straight at the television. His face looked completely impassive, but his fingers began to trace small patterns on her thighs. Lois squirmed a little and set the plate down on the coffee table.

Clark's hand slid further and further up her thigh. Finally, Lois couldn't take it anymore and swung herself onto Clark's lap, straddling him. He smirked at her as his hands rested on her hips.

"What's wrong, Lois?" Clark asked in a conversational tone.

"Oh, nothing," Lois replied sweetly. She put her hands on Clark's shoulders and slowly rolled her hips forward. "Why? Is something wrong with you?"

Clark grunted and tightened his grip on Lois's waist, trying to stop her movements. "Not at all," he managed. Lois started wiggling subtly in his lap then, and Clark's head fell back onto the sofa. She leaned forward and started kissing his neck, lingering on the patch of skin where his jaw started. Clark's grip on her waist loosened, and she started to roll her hips forward again. He was hard against her, and Lois loved that he was like that for her.

"Lois," Clark breathed. His reactions had her flying high. No one had ever quite responded to her the way Clark was, and it was exhilarating.

Meanwhile, Clark was trying to desperately get a grip on himself. He needed to distract himself, and what better way to do that then to focus all of his attention on distracting Lois? He slid his hands up under the shirt she was wearing and skimmed his palms up her thighs. He didn't stop there, though. He found the band of her panties and rested his hands on that, causing Lois to inhale sharply.

"Problem, Lois?" Clark asked as her lips stilled on his neck.

He could feel her release a shuddering breath against his neck. "Nope." She went back to nipping and sucking, and Clark smoothed his hand to the front of her panties. Lois bit down harder, but it wasn't like it hurt him. In fact, it kind of turned him on even more.

Just as his fingers brushed at the dampness between her legs, Lois's lips came down on his. Clark let his fingers gently stroke her over her underwear as her tongue plunged into his mouth. He returned the kiss with equal fervor, keeping his other hand on her hip to steady her.

He wasn't going to push her any further, because he wanted to make sure that this was what she wanted. But Lois pulled back just enough to breathe against his lips, "Please, Clark." She arched her hips, pressing closer to his hand. Clark got the hint and pushed her underwear aside.

His fingers slid through her slick folds until her found her clit. He circled it once, twice before he slid two fingers inside of her. He was twisting and curling his fingers when her hand disappeared under the waistband of his pants and boxers. Wait. When the hell had she even unbuckled his belt?

All thoughts left his mind as soon as her fingers stroked down his shaft. They stayed like that, their quiet moans and gasps filling the air as they touched each other. They kissed again as Lois's thumb brushed over his tip and his thumb pressed down on her nub. Moments later, she came hard on his hand and he wasn't very far behind. Lois slumped forward on his chest, her face buried in his neck.

A long, silent moment passed as they tried to catch their breath. "Well damn," Lois finally said. "That was…"

"Wow," Clark supplied.

Lois nodded her head before she yawned. She pulled back to smile at him and stretched a little bit. "And to think, we haven't actually slept together yet. Imagine how _that_ is going to feel."

"Don't tempt me, Lois," Clark said with a groan. "You're tired. We should head up to bed."

Lois sighed, but she knew that Clark was right. She wanted to be wide awake with Clark, because she would be damned if she would be at anything other than her best. She stood up and took Clark's hand, pulling him to her feet next to her. They walked up the stairs and into his room. Ever since the night they had first kissed, Clark hadn't been sleeping on the couch in the living room. It was a damn good improvement, in both their opinions.

"Hey Clark?" Lois said before they crawled into bed.

Clark looked at her with soft, affectionate eyes. "Yes, Lois?"

She smiled at him. "Thanks for taking me out tonight. It was really nice."

Clark pulled her close and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Anytime, Lois."

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, give it another chapter or so. The plot development will come back. I just wanted to develop Lois and Clark's relationship without them having to worry about any imminent threats for the moment. Thanks for reading!**


	20. The Good Times

**Author's Note: As always, I'm glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks for the great reviews!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Clark Kent was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He hated that he couldn't just take this time and enjoy it. But it had been a week since he had shared his first (real) kiss with Lois. Things had been going amazingly well since then. He and Lois had spent the past week spending whatever time they could together. They went out twice more, but most times they stayed in and cooked dinner together (well, Clark cooked while Lois watched).

But Clark couldn't shake the feeling like something bad was about to happen. They hadn't heard anything about Schott in a while, which could either be good or bad. And then there was the whole Lana situation. Clark hadn't heard from her since he had admitted his love for Lois.

Not to mention the fact that he hadn't actually told Lois that he loved her yet. They were only a week into their relationship, but if there was one thing that Clark had learned after everything that had happened, it was that you couldn't afford to hold back your feelings.

"I really thought that getting with Lois would help get rid of the whole gloom and doom thing you do." Oliver shook his head. "Look, I have that feeling, too. But I'm not going to let it control me." He smirked. "I'm going out with a model tonight. Unless it's a dire, life-or-death emergency, I don't expect a call until at least tomorrow afternoon. I'd advise that you get some tonight, too."

Clark gave Oliver an exasperated look. "I don't think that's any of your business, Oliver."

Oliver snorted. "You mean to tell me that Lois hasn't let you in her pants yet?"

"I didn't say that."

Oliver whistled. "You go, Clark! Now get home and do something about that. Maybe it will help you lighten up a little bit."

* * *

"I can't believe all the times I could have figured out that you were the Blur! I feel like such an idiot right now!"

Clark chuckled. "You're not stupid, Lois. I've just gotten really lucky over the years."

Despite her ire, Lois couldn't help the grin that came on her face. "I could have figured it out the first night I met you! You were naked in a field and doing all sorts of crazy things."

Clark quirked an eyebrow. "The fact that I was naked is the first thing you remember from that night?"

Lois's cheeks pinked the tiniest bit, but she kept a straight face. "It was a very impressive sight."

Clark cleared his throat and went back to stirring the pasta on the stove. He could hear Lois snigger behind him before she asked, "So tell me more about your powers. What is it, exactly, that you can do?"

"Well, you already know about the super speed," Clark said. "And you've seen the super strength, even though you don't remember it. I've also got heat vision, and I'm invincible. And I have x-ray vision." He wiggled his eyebrows at Lois, and she giggled. "I've also got super breath—"

"Super breath?" Lois laughed. "What is _that_?"

Clark picked up her glass of water and blew across it. The liquid froze instantly, and Lois's eyes widened. She smiled as Clark set the glass down and melted it again with his heat vision.

"So cool," she declared. "Is there anything else you can do?"

"Well…" Clark suddenly grew very quiet as his face darkened a little. Lois's brow furrowed in concern as she put her hand over his. "There is one other thing." He took a deep breath and combed his fingers through his hair. "I'm supposed to be able to fly."

"Supposed to be?"

"I haven't learned how to do it yet." Clark's scowl was dark as he stared down at the floor. "I've tried, but I just… can't."

"Hey." Lois squeezed his hand. "You told me about that time you were on Red K. You flew then, remember? You can obviously do it, you just need to learn how."

Clark let out a dry, dark chuckle. "You make it sound like it's so easy."

"Yeah, because I know so much about Kryptonian super powers." Lois rolled her eyes as she stood up and made her way to Clark's side of the table. "You know what? I wouldn't worry about it right now. It sounds like you came into all of your powers when you're ready." Seeing the look on Clark's face, Lois rolled her eyes again. "Don't give me that look, Clark Kent. Come on, think about it. You've done a pretty good job so far with just the powers you have. I really wouldn't worry about it too much."

Clark looked up at Lois then. "Yeah?"

"Of course!" Lois pressed a light kiss to his lips. "Clark, you've already saved so many people. You saved them before you had the super breath or the heat vision. Everything about your time in high school makes sense now, by the way." Clark let out a chuckle, and Lois was glad that he was finally relaxing a little. "You're amazing without the flying. You're still my hero, you know."

Without another word, Clark tugged Lois into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck as he tried to find the words to express how much Lois meant to him. Somehow, she had managed to say exactly the right thing in her own Lois way.

The next words that came out of Clark's mouth just seemed so natural that he didn't even have to think about it. He pulled back just enough so that his mouth was pressed next to Lois's ear. "I love you," he whispered.

Lois froze in Clark's lap. She pulled back and looked at him with wide eyes. Despite the fact that it had completely slipped out, Clark wasn't going to take it back. It felt so good to actually say the words out loud to her.

"I love you," he repeated.

Lois stared at him for a long moment before her face suddenly broke into a wide, beaming grin. "I love you, too."

And it felt just as good to hear it in return. "Lois," he breathed. He pulled her close and covered her mouth with his, locking his fingers into her hair. He could feel her smiling against his lips, and he smiled in return.

* * *

Chloe flipped through the papers in her hands as she walked into the main room of the Isis Foundation. She felt a familiar rush of air and jumped when she looked up to find her unexpected visitor.

"Lana," she said. "What's up?"

"I need you to be honest with me, Chloe," Lana stated without any preamble.

Chloe was taken aback by Lana's bluntness. She didn't really like where this conversation was headed, because she had a feeling that she was about to become the middle man. And that was something that Chloe was definitely not okay with.

"Okay…"

But Lana didn't ask her question right away. "I already tried to talk to Oliver," she revealed. "But he wouldn't really say anything to me."

That just made Chloe even more concerned. As soon as she had seen Lana, Chloe knew that she was going to ask about Lois and Clark. As Clark's best friend and Lois's cousin, she was going to support the two of them no matter what. And, if she was being totally and completely honest, she would have to say that she didn't believe that Lana was good for Clark. Their relationship had always had been somewhat destructive, but she didn't want to outright say that to Lana. She was Lana's friend, too, and she didn't want to be mean.

Chloe cursed under her breath. This just wasn't going to end well for her, was it?

"Okay," Chloe repeated. When Lana didn't say anything further, the blonde just shook her head. "Lana, you have to tell me what's going on. I can't help you if you won't say anything."

"Fine. I guess I'll just come right out and ask it." Lana took a deep breath. "Do you think Lois and Clark love each other?"

Chloe didn't have to think about the answer. "I do."

Lana blinked in surprise. "Oh."

Chloe sighed. "Look. Some people—and when I say some people, I mean everyone—take one look at Lois and Clark and think they should be together. They just have that… that vibe, you know? They both drive each other insane, but they still love to be together. They're just… I think they're just made for each other."

Lana slowly nodded her head. "Oh," she repeated.

"Lana, things have changed," Chloe finally said after a long moment of silence. "I think that you're trying to hold on to something that just isn't there anymore. I'm sorry."

Without another word, Lana zipped out of the room. Chloe cursed again and ran a hand through her hair. She sighed. "Well, at least Lois and Clark are happy."

* * *

Lois curled herself into Clark's side as he ran his fingers through her hair. She ran her fingers over his bare chest and nuzzled her cheek over his heart.

"I love you," she said again. Lois had never felt like this before. It was just so easy to be with Clark and say those three words to him.

"I love you, too," Clark whispered. He pressed his lips to her forehead and ran his hands down her back, over the plaid shirt she was wearing. His flannel shirts had become her choice of pajamas since they had gotten together. He thought that she used to wear the shirts just to annoy him, but now Clark had a feeling that she secretly loved wearing these shirts. The thought made him pull on the sleeve to get Lois's attention.

"Hey, Lo," he said.

Lois tilted her face up to look at Clark. "What's up?"

"I have a very serious question for you. I want you to answer it honestly," Clark said seriously. He tried his best to keep a straight face. It must have worked, since Lois suddenly looked very concerned. Clark was trying hard not to laugh.

"Alright… Clark, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Lois. But I have to know… Do you secretly like my plaid shirts?"

Lois stared at him. Then she shot straight up and punched Clark in the shoulder as he dissolved into laughter. She hit him against just because she felt the need to when he didn't stop laughing. She grumbled darkly under her breath when she realized that she had been found out.

"This is not funny," Lois declared.

"I'm not trying to be funny, Lois," Clark said. Even as he spoke, he was still laughing. "I really want to know."

"Oh, hardy har har."

"You haven't answered my question yet!"

"I think you already know the answer to it." Despite the fact that she was trying to be angry, Lois could feel a smile forming on her face. Clark Kent as just too damn cute.

"Really, though," Clark said with his charming grin. "I don't."

Lois sighed dramatically. He wasn't going to let this go, was he? "I mean… they're not horrible."

"Hmm." Clark smirked as he folded his arms behind his head. "I thought so."

Now it was Lois's turn to smirk. She pulled down on one of the sleeves and exposed her shoulder. "I mean, if it meant that much to you, I don't have to wear this shirt…"

Clark sat straight up, his eyes wide. "I'd be okay with that!"

* * *

**Author's Note: I really wanted to end this chapter on a lighter note, so I hope I succeeded. The plot will start up again next chapter. Also, I had a question: for the last epilogue, would you all like to see something in the future? Perhaps with some kids? Let me know! Thanks for reading!**


	21. Marking Territory

**Author's Note: New chapter, yay! As always, thank you for the amazing reviews. Your support really inspires me to write this!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

* * *

Lois Lane was trying to wrap her mind around what she just heard.

"What do you mean, Lex knows about your super powers?"

"Lex has known about them for some time," Clark admitted.

"And he's been using Schott to go after Oliver," Chloe added. "And he's going to come after you next, Clark."

"And he knows that Kryptonite can kill you. Right?" Lois asked Clark. He nodded his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm not killing him," Clark finally said. "I won't. I know that Oliver has some vendetta against Lex, but I won't do it."

"Clark…" Chloe sighed. "Lex won't stop coming after you. I think you don't realize that he's not the man you saved eight years ago. He's not a good guy, Clark."

Clark gave his friend an exasperated look. "I know that, Chloe. Believe it or not, I'm not stupid. But I'm not going to kill him. I'm not going to stoop to his level."

Chloe threw her hands up into the air before she turned to face her cousin. "Lois, help me out here. Oliver and I can't be the only ones who think that Clark needs to do something about Lex?"

"Oh, I agree with you. Clark does need to do something about Lex." Before Clark could open his mouth to protest, Lois held her hand up and continued speaking. "But killing him might not be the right course of action."

"Lois. You have got to be kidding me. What happened to shoot first and ask questions later?"

"I'm just saying that what separates Clark from Lex is willingness to help people. Some people might see that as a weakness, but I think that it's what makes Clark strong. He doesn't just take the easy way out. And if Lex is that bad, then he deserves to be punished for what he's done. Death would be too easy."

Clark smiled at Lois and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. Despite her frustration level with Clark, she was glad to see that they were finally happy. Those two definitely deserved it, and they made such a good team. They supported each other and balanced one another out.

Finally, Chloe sighed. "Then we're going to have to find Schott. Oliver thinks that he could lead us to Lex."

"Oh, for the love of God." Lois rolled her eyes. "I really hope that you guys don't do something stupid."

* * *

They stopped talking about Lex and ordered some pizza for lunch. The atmosphere relaxed considerably, and they settled for watching a movie. It was nice to just have a normal night in before all hell broke loose.

Chloe was just getting ready to leave when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Lana standing on the other side. Chloe sighed and stepped aside, allowing the raven-haired woman to enter.

"Lana," Clark said when he saw her. He noticed how Lois tensed next to him, and he put a hand on the small of her back. "What's going on?"

Lana paused for a moment as she looked between Lois and Clark. Finally, she said, "I talked to Dr. Groll about what happened with that chip. And the Kryptonite."

"Yeah?" Lois tried to keep her voice from snapping. "And?"

"It wasn't just the chip. It was me."

Chloe's brow furrowed as she started connecting the dots. "Meaning…"

"Meaning that in addition to the super speed and the super strength, I can also destroy Kryptonite," Lana explained. "Actually, I can absorb it."

"Is this suit some kind of weapon?" Lois demanded. "What if—"

"Lois." Clark smoothed a soothing hand over her back. "It's going to be fine. We're going to figure this out."

Lana didn't miss the interactions between Lois and Clark. She cleared her throat. "So did you find anything out?" she asked.

"Yeah. We have an address for Schott," Clark explained. "We're going to check it out. But we need to be careful. Since Schott is working for Lex, he's more than likely three steps ahead."

"We're all going?" Lana asked.

"Yes, all of us," Lois said. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Chloe let out a sigh. "Well, this should be a lot of fun."

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Oliver, still sore from the after-effects of the explosion, paced back and forth. "We lost Schott, we can't find Lex… What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"Oliver, you need to calm down," Clark said. "We still have to check out the last known address listed for Schott. Chloe and Lana are planning it out right now."

"Where's Lois, then?" Oliver asked. "I can't imagine that she would be okay with only Chloe and Lana planning this little excursion."

"She's not, but she admitted that she needed some time to cool off. I was about to go out and find her, actually." Clark looked out the window, and he could see Lois going into the barn. He let out a sigh and thought back to yesterday, when things were just a little bit easier.

Oliver nodded his head. He certainly didn't envy Clark's situation. "I'll go supervise Lana and Chloe, then. You take all the time with Lois that you need."

Clark patted Oliver on the shoulder in thanks before he stood up and made his way outside. He used his super speed to zip over the barn and found Lois sitting on one of the sofas. She was sitting quietly, looking out the window as the sun set.

"Hey," Clark said quietly as he sat down next to her. "How are you holding up?"

Lois leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm fine," she said. Clark couldn't help the skeptical look that he gave her, and she cracked a small smile. "Really."

"Lo…"

"Clark, really. It's fine. I'm totally fine with Lana waltzing in her and questioning my involvement with every single thing you guys do."

And there it was. Clark opened his mouth to speak, but Lois cut him off with the beginnings of what was sure to be a very long rant.

"I mean, who does she think she is? Just because she has some magical super suit—made by Lex freaking Luthor, just in case anyone was forgetting—doesn't mean that she gets to boss me around! She's not better than I am! And I'm pretty sure that I could still definitely kick her ass—"

Clark cut Lois off by covering her mouth with his. His distraction tactic worked. Lois wound her arms around his neck and pressed closer to him, practically climbing into his lap.

"Well," Clark said with a smirk after the kiss broke. "I would have done that a lot sooner if I had known that that was the reaction I was going to get." Lois kissed him quickly before she moved her lips to his neck. Clark suddenly understood what she was doing. "So you're marking your territory, I see."

Lois stopped nipping at his jaw and pulled back to give him an innocent look. "What?"

Clark slid his hands down her sides and brought them around to rest just above her behind. "I know exactly what you're trying to do, Lois. You have nothing to worry about."

"I know," Lois said defensively.

"I love you, remember?" Clark kissed her gently. Before he turned, laying her out on the couch. His hands slid up under her shirt, and she arched into his touch. "Only you." His mouth covered hers again, and she quickly started to unbutton his shirt.

Now really wasn't the time or the place for this, but they both needed it. They knew it, and they were okay with it. Lois pushed Clark's shirt off his shoulder and smoothed her hands down his chest to his belt buckle. Clark's lips attached to her neck before he pulled her shirt over her head.

Lois's bra was gone before she even realized it. His large hand cupped her right breast as he unbuttoned her jeans. His thumb flicked over her nipple before he smoothly pulled her jeans off. Clark's hands slid up Lois's thighs as his mouth closed around her nipple. Lois moaned, locking her fingers in Clark's hair. Her feet pushed his jeans down and she arched into his mouth as his arm tongue circled around the bud.

Clark pushed her panties aside and stroked between her legs. Lois was burning for his touch as she pulled his head up and kissed him again. She snaked her fingers into the waistband of his boxers and tugged.

"Do you have a condom?" Lois panted as she pulled away just enough to speak.

Clark zipped over to the desk and appeared a second later with a condom. Lois tried not to laugh, but a giggle escaped as he quickly tore it open. He stopped and looked down at her, his brow furrowed.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Nothing. You're just the Boy Scout, always prepared. I should have known you would have stashed some condoms in here." Lois dissolved into laughter again. Clark quickly put the condom on and covered her body with his again, attaching his lips to her neck as his fingers pressed between her legs again. Lois's laughs died off into a blissful sigh and she clutched at his shoulders.

"Clark," Lois moaned. "Please…"

And that was all the encouragement that he needed. Clark kissed her as he slowly pressed into her. He dropped his face into her neck and groaned as her legs wrapped around his waist. After a long moment, he started to move inside her with long, deep strokes.

Lois felt like her whole body was on fire as he kissed her again, his tongue plunging into her mouth. She rocked her hips in time with his and moaned loudly. Clark laced their fingers together, creating another connection between them. Their movements grew faster, more frantic as they both got close to that edge.

Clark slid his hand between them and pressed against her nub. It wasn't long after that that Lois fell apart, crying out. A few thrusts later, Clark came as he groaned her name. He pulled her into his arms as they both tried to catch their breaths.

"Well, I can't say that I was too fond of how this day started, but I like how it ended," Lois muttered.

Clark chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad I could help out."

* * *

After getting dressed, Lois and Clark made their way back to the house. They were surprised to find it empty. Just to be sure, they checked all of the rooms.

"I don't like this," Lois said. "I don't like this at all. Where could they have gone?"

Clark sighed. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that they went to Schott's last address. I just hope that—"

Clark was cut off by the ringing of his phone. Lois cursed under his breath as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Hello?"

It was a quick and tense conversation. When Clark hung up, he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers before he looked at Lois.

"They found another bomb. It's at the Daily Planet."

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that wasn't exactly how I pictured this chapter going, but I just went with it. At any rate, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think!**


	22. Closure

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's been such a long time since I've updated. The truth is, I've had trouble with trying to figure out how I'm going to twist the end of "Requiem" to fit with this story. But I'm going to take a stab at it.**

**Also, I'm sorry if the last chapter seemed out of character. I'm a huge sucker for fluff, but I apologize if it changed the entire tone of the story. So here's the next chapter, and I hope that you all enjoy it! As always, thanks for the great reviews!  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

Lois Lane was truly terrified.

She had never seen this happen to Clark before. He was hunched over on the ground, curled into himself due to the amount of pain he was in. Lois was crouched next to him, her hand on his back as she desperately tried to figure out a way to help him.

"Clark, you need to get out of here," Oliver said. They were on the roof of the Daily Planet. They had just missed Lex Luthor. The signal from the IP address had gone out mere seconds before their arrival. Once again, Lex had managed to evade them.

Clark shook his head and sucked in a pained breath. "No. I'm not leaving."

"Damn it, Clark! Could you stop being so stubborn for two seconds and leave? This much kryptonite can kill you."

"Oliver is right, Clark," Chloe said. "That's what Lex wants."

Clark shook his head again. "We can't let this bomb go off."

"And we won't," Oliver said. "Have a little faith, Clark, and get as far away from here as you can. Lois, please talk some sense into him."

Lois looked at Oliver before she looked down at Clark. His eyes were unguarded as he stared at her. The expression in his gaze clearly stated that he wouldn't budge, no matter what she said. And Lois knew that Clark would never leave. Not until he knew for sure that everyone would be safe, at least.

"Can we just come up with some type of plan?" Lois snapped. "I think we'd all feel a lot better, then."

Chloe sighed. "We already have a plan," she said quietly. She glanced at Lana, who was watching Clark.

"Care to share?" Lois said. "We don't exactly have a lot of time at the moment."

"Lex obviously didn't know about your relationship with Clark, Lois," Oliver explained. "As far as he knew, Clark was still pining away for Lana. So he kind of… twisted this whole situation to try and tear Clark and Lana apart."

Lois stared at Lana, and then at the bomb that was glowing green with the kryptonite. It didn't take her very long to connect the dots. "The suit," she said.

Lana nodded her head. "Lex knew all along that I was going to go after the suit. And he knew that it could absorb kryptonite, so he made the kryptonite bomb. He knew that if I absorbed it, there would be too much for me to ever be safely near Clark again."

Clark was now watching Lana as well. He looked guilty and apologetic, and Lois's hand tightened on the back of his shirt. His eyes turned to her, and he gave her a sad look. Lois nodded her head once in understanding.

"What are you going to do?" she asked quietly.

Lana squared her shoulders. "I'm going to absorb the kryptonite from the bomb. And then I'm going to leave."

In that moment, Lois respected Lana. She wanted nothing more than for the other woman to find the happiness that Lois had found with Clark. And one day, Lana probably would. And she might be able to find a cure and return to see her friends.

"Lana," Clark managed.

Lana held her hands up. "There's nothing for me here, Clark. I see that now."

The guilt flashed over Clark's face again. He felt as if this was all somehow his fault. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Lana smiled softly at him. "Don't be." She looked at Lois and nodded her head. "I understand."

And with that, Lana wrapped her arms around the bomb.

* * *

It was quiet at the Kent house. Oliver and Chloe were sitting in the kitchen, talking to several doctors at once. They were still trying to see if there was some type of way to get rid of all the kryptonite that Lana had absorbed.

Lois was sitting on the couch. Clark was stretched out next to her, his head on her lap. She combed her fingers through his thick hair and smoothed her thumb over his furrowed brow. He had been wearing the same tense expression on his face ever since they had left the Daily Planet.

"I'm sorry," Clark finally said.

Lois gave him a sharp look as she tilted her head towards him. "Why?"

"I just… I'm sorry for everything that happened."

"Clark." Lois sighed. "Believe it or not, I did know what I was getting into when you told me everything. I know about your history with Lana. I know that things went on between the two of you. But I also know that you love me and I love you. Right?"

"Of course." Clark sat up and leaned back against the couch. He was still recovering from the kryptonite exposure. "Lois, I do love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone."

Lois smiled softly at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I know. I just think you need to sit back and realize that this isn't your fault. It isn't anyone's fault, okay?"

Clark didn't look as if he believed her, but he nodded his head. "Okay."

* * *

Clark knew that Lana was there before he heard her. The pain began as soon as she was close enough. He tensed but his gritted his teeth against the pain. This was a conversation that needed to be had.

"Clark?" Lana's voice was soft as she stepped into the loft. "I know I shouldn't be here, but I just…"

"It's okay, Lana," Clark said.

"I wanted to see you one last time. And I wanted to tell you that I understand. You love Lois."

"I never met to hurt you, Lana." Clark knew it was a cop out, but it was true. He never had meant to hurt Lana. There had been a time in his life when he loved her. She was his first love, and he would never forget that. But he had grown up and found the person that he was truly meant to be with. Some people found the love of their lives on their first try, but Clark and Lana weren't one of those people. One day, Lana would find that person for her, just as Clark had.

Lana smiled at him. "I know, Clark. I think… I think I always knew that this was going to happen. I used to watch the way you and Lois interacted. I tried not to notice, but Chloe was right. There was always something between the two of you."

Clark nodded his head and closed his eyes. The pain was getting to be too much, and Lana knew it. She stepped forward and quickly brushed her hand down his cheek. Clark winced but held strong, and Lana stepped back.

"This is where we say goodbye," Lana said. "So… goodbye."

"Goodbye, Lana," Clark said.

Lana sped away, and Clark's pain slowly receded. He sat in the loft until he was feeling better and thought over what had just happened. He felt infinitely better than he had a few hours before. He believed Lois, but it felt good to have this closure. Now they could all truly move on.

When he was feeling well enough, Clark went back to the house. He found Lois in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. He smiled when he saw and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. He dropped a kiss to the side of her neck and knew that she was smiling.

"Well. Someone is feeling better," Lois said with a laugh.

"I am," Clark said. "Things are better."

Lois turned around in his arms and kissed him. "That's good. That's really good."

* * *

**Author's Note: So, I'm thinking that there's going to be another chapter before the epilogue. This one had some closure between Clark and Lana, and the next chapter will be tying up those loose ends. I just want to make sure that everyone still wants an epilogue that takes place in the future (maybe with some kids)? Let me know. Thanks for reading!**


	23. Falling into Place

**Author's Note: Thanks for all of the amazing reviews last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

Martha Kent was so happy.

She was happy because her son was finally happy. Standing in the kitchen window, Martha watched as Clark and Lois raked up the leaves in the front yard. Lois dropped her rake and jumped on Clark's back, reaching up to mess with his hair and cover his eyes. Laughing, Clark fell back into the pile of leaves they had created.

The pair played around for a few more minutes before they both came inside. Martha already had hot chocolate and a slice of pie ready for them. Clark kissed his mother on the cheek and Lois greeted her with a hug before they all sat at the kitchen table.

"Sorry," Clark said. "We would have been in sooner if Lois hadn't been messing around."

"I'm sorry, who was the one messed up our nice little pile?" Lois demanded. "I'm pretty sure that it was you."

"Children," Martha said with a laugh. "Play nice."

Lois and Clark grinned at each other. Clark's hand slid towards Lois's on the table and covered it, twining their fingers together. Lois looked down at their hands before she looked back to her plate and speared a piece of pie. She ate it and turned to Martha.

"This pie is as fantastic as ever, Mrs. K," she declared. "I'm going to miss this when you leave. Clark is definitely not as good a baker as you."

Clark gave her a mildly amused look. "You've never had my baking before, Lois."

"Oh, so you can bake?"

"I'm pretty positive that I'm a better baker than you. And a better cook. Actually, I'm all-around better in the kitchen than you are."

Lois opened her mouth to retort, but she realized that Clark was right. Gourmet chef, she was not. Clark had been cooking all of their meals since she had come to stay with him, and it was actually pretty decent.

"Why don't we all bake something tonight?" Martha suggested. Their bickering was filled with such affection and gentle teasing. "Call Chloe and Jimmy and Oliver. I haven't seen them in a while, either."

"That sounds like a great idea, Mom," Clark said.

Lois reached for her phone. "I'll call them right now."

Martha watched Clark. He was looking at Lois with a smile on his face as she disappeared in the living room, already happily chatting on the phone with her cousin. He finally didn't look as if the weight of the world was weighing on his shoulders any more. Martha knew that the change definitely did have something to do with the fact that he opened up to Lois.

"You look so happy, Clark," Martha said.

The smile on his face never left his lips as he turned to his mother. "I am happy, Mom," he told her. "Finally… it just feels like everything is falling into place, you know? Everything finally feels right."

"That's the way it's supposed to feel," Martha said to her son. "But how are you doing after everything that happened?"

Clark's brow furrowed. "With Lana, you mean?" he finally said.

"Yes. With Lana."

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "Lana and I finally got some closure. It was pretty much needed after everything that happened. We never got a chance to sit and down and talk after she left me that DVD."

Martha frowned at the mention of that DVD. She had always hated that it had happened to Clark. Even though there were reasons behind it, the last thing a mother ever wanted to see was her child's heart get broken. But she let Clark continue.

"I guess I was glad that it happened," Clark finally finished. "Because otherwise, it would have been open-ended."

"Do you think that you always would have wondered?" Martha asked carefully.

Clark shook his head. "No. Things between me and Lois would have happened anyway. But I guess it was just better to work it out."

Martha finally smiled and shook her head. "You've grown up so much, Clark. I'm so proud of you."

Clark smiled. It was pretty awesome to hear that his mother was proud of him. "Thanks, Mom," he said.

"How did Lois handle all of it?" Martha asked after a moment.

To Martha's surprise, Clark's smile never left his face. "She handled it so well. I mean, I wasn't oblivious. I know that Lois wasn't exactly Lana's biggest fan. But she never once was malicious in any way. Lois just amazes me so much."

"Well, I am pretty amazing."

Both Martha and Clark looked up as Lois came back into the kitchen. Clark smiled at her, and she slid her arms around his shoulders from behind. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, and Martha smiled as she watched the couple interact.

"Chloe, Jimmy, and Oliver will be over in half an hour," Lois said. "So that gives us just enough time to get everything ready."

"I'll help you," Clark offered. He stood up and kissed her quickly.

Martha smiled when she saw how happy Lois looked. That was exactly what a mother wanted to see.

* * *

"CLARK KENT! You did _not_ just get flour all over my shirt!"

Clark attempted to stifle his laugh, but he didn't really succeed. Amusement was sparking in his eyes as he turned back to the pie dough he was rolling out. Lois gaped at him as Oliver, Chloe, and Jimmy laughed, while Lois mock-glared at her boyfriend.

"Okay, Superman. You're totally going to get it."

Clark turned towards Lois with an eyebrow raised. "Where did that nickname come from? It sounds kind of—" He stopped talking abruptly as Lois tossed a handful of flour in his face.

She couldn't control her own laughter. Their friends were laughing outright next to them. So Clark did the only thing he could think of: he grabbed another handful of flour and threw it at all of them.

That started a flour war in the kitchen. Pretty soon, every available surface was covered in the white, powdery substance. They were careful with Jimmy, since he was still recovering from his severe injuries. But Lois had no problem with grabbing Chloe and tossing some flour down her shirt. Chloe retaliated by smearing some of the blueberry filling all over Lois's nose.

Clark caught Lois around the waist and mused her hair. She laughed and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him close for a kiss.

For once, they didn't have to worry about saving the world or the bad guys. For one quiet moment in their lives, everything was calm.

* * *

"Are you excited?"

"Are you kidding me?" Lois looked like a kid on Christmas morning. "I'm finally going to get my bandages off. No more limited movement. And I can do whatever I want at work now."

Clark gave his girlfriend a mildly amused look. "That doesn't mean you can get yourself in the first dangerous situation you can find, Lois."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I know that, Clark. Thank you for reminding me."

"I don't even know why I try," he said with a chuckle. "You'll manage to get yourself in trouble, anyway."

"That's not fair!" Lois exclaimed. "Trouble finds me more often than I find it."

Clark simply laughed as the doctor came in and removed Lois's bandages. He gave her another checkup before he let the couple leave. Clark and Lois left the doctor's office hand in hand and made their way back to the house.

"Where's your mom?" Lois asked as they entered.

Clark shut the door behind him. "Out with some friends," he answered. "She won't be back for a while."

Lois smirked. "Good," she murmured before she pushed on Clark's chest, causing him to fall back on the couch.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, but it didn't take long for him to catch on to what she wanted. "Lois?" he breathed.

She shed her pants and unbuttoned her shirt before she sank down onto his lap, her hands pressing onto his shoulders. "Since I'm fully healed and everything, I was thinking that we could… you know…" She pressed a kiss to his jaw. "Celebrate."

Clark put his hands on her hips and swallowed thickly as he nodded his head. "Okay," he muttered. Lois kissed her way to his lips and gently tugged on the bottom one before sucking on it. He groaned and kissed her in earnest, his fingers knotting in her long hair.

They quickly shed the rest of their clothes, and Lois moaned as Clark smoothed his hand up her sides and cupped her breasts. His lips attached to her neck and she tilted her head back, allowing him more access. Lois shifted her hips, lifting up before she sank down onto him.

Clark groaned against the skin of her throat before he kissed Lois again. She clutched at his shoulders as she rolled her hips into his. Lois moaned again, her cries getting louder as Clark began to slowly thrust into her. Her back arched, allowing Clark to lean forward and close his lips around a nipple.

"_Clark_," Lois gasped. Her movements became more frantic, and Clark matched her. He snaked a hand between them, circling and pressing against her sensitive spot, and Lois shuddered around him before she came hard, crying his name out. It wasn't long before Clark followed her over the edge, groaning her name into her neck.

They stayed curled up on the couch for several long moments before they disentangled themselves. Clark pulled on his boxers and handed Lois his plaid shirt. She took it with a grin and slipped it on. Clark gathered their other clothes before he easily swept Lois up into his arms.

"I love you," Clark told her.

Lois beamed and kissed him again. "I love you, too."

* * *

**Author's Note: I feel like that was a huge fluff overload. Oh well. Personally, I love writing Martha into **_**Smallville**_** fics. Thanks for reading, and be on the lookout for the epilogue!**


	24. Epilogue: The Life of the Kents

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank everyone for sticking with this story. I started this over two years ago, and you guys never gave up on it. I really appreciate the support you've given this story.**

**So, I'm totally winging this epilogue. I'm just making it up as I go along. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Clark Kent had never been so happy in his entire life.

"Christopher Kent! Get back here!"

He let out a chuckle as he heard his wife yell after their oldest son. A little blur dressed in blue and red came into the kitchen, and Clark reached out to stop him. He saw the doll the eight year old was holding, and he had to bite back a smile.

"Did you take your sister's doll, Chris?" he asked in as stern a voice as he could muster.

Chris gave him a charming smile. "Aw, Dad, come on. I'm just trying to have some fun!"

"You can't do it at the expense of Emma," Clark said just as a little girl with a head full of brunette curls ran into the kitchen. She put her hands on her hips and glared at her brother with a look on her face that was so classically Lois that Clark had to laugh.

"Chris!" Emma Kent held her hand out. "Give me back my doll!"

Clark arched an eyebrow at his daughter. "Please," he added.

Emma looked at her father and gave him a sweet smile. "Please," she added.

"Aw, fine." Chris handed the doll back to his little sister. "I was just gonna hide it."

Lois came into the kitchen then, holding a three year old toddler boy in her arms. "Chris, don't take your sister's toys. Emma, don't vandalize your brother's comic books."

"_What?_" Chris took off towards his bedroom in another blur of color while Emma just skipped away with a giggle. Clark watched his two children run off with a mildly amused look on his face.

"She's definitely your daughter," Clark noted.

Lois couldn't keep the smile from forming on her face as she leaned against the counter. "I think Logan is going to be the only one who isn't going to be a trouble maker. He's my sweet little angel."

"That's because he takes after me," Clark said. He ran his hand over the toddler's thick, messy hair, and Logan grabbed onto his hand and smiled at his father.

Lois laughed and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Clark smiled against her lips as she kissed him back.

* * *

"One more story please, Mom?"

Lois shook her head and shut the book she had been reading to her oldest son. "I'm sorry, Chris. That was the third story I read to you. It's time for bed."

Chris pouted at her, and he looked so much like Clark in that moment that Lois had to look away for a brief moment. Clark had been gone for four days at this point. It had been one of his longer trips, and she hadn't heard from him in almost two days.

Just then, she felt a familiar rush of air and then two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Lois sagged against her husband in relief as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Daddy!" Chris exclaimed sleepily.

Clark gave his son a tired smile. "Hey, buddy," he said. He let go of Lois and sat on the edge of Chris's bed. "What are you still doing up?"

"Mommy was just reading me a story," Chris explained as he yawned. "I was waiting for you to get home."

"I'm home now, Chris. So that means you have to go to bed." Clark leaned over and kissed his forehead. Even though Chris was eight and often claimed that he was too old for these sorts of things, he was just glad that his father was home.

"Hey Daddy?" Chris's eyes fluttered shut as he spoke. He was already half asleep, but Clark answered him anyway.

"Yeah, Chris?"

"Can I be a superhero like you when I grow up?"

Clark smiled a little and smoothed Chris's messy hair back. "You can be anything you want to be."

With that, Chris drifted off to sleep. Clark kissed his forehead again and Lois did the same. Clark went to say goodnight to Emma and Logan while Lois went to their bedroom. Clark returned a few minutes later and climbed into bed, pulling her into his arms.

He brushed his lips across her temple. "I'm sorry that I was gone for so long."

Lois snuggled closer to him. "It's okay. I understand." And she did. Lois really did understand. That was the amazing thing about Lois and their relationship. No matter what happened, she always understood. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," Clark told her. "Especially since I'm back here."

Lois finally smiled for real. "You're such a smooth talker, Clark Kent."

Clark chuckled. "You love it, Lois Lane-Kent."

* * *

"Uncle Ollie!"

Oliver let out a grunt as all three of the Kent kids slammed into him. Even the little one, only being three years old, still packed a punch. It wasn't long before they were all hanging off of him, and Oliver pretended that they were too heavy as he dragged them out to the backyard.

"Come on, Uncle Ollie! Let's play!" Emma said as she tugged on his hand.

Oliver smiled at the little girl. "I gotta go help your dad with the grill, Em. You have to know that he's not the best grill master."

"I heard that, Oliver!" Clark yelled from across the yard.

"Screw you and your super hearing!" Oliver yelled back.

As Chloe walked by with a blonde toddler in her arms, she hit Oliver on the back of the head. "Watch your language around the children!"

Oliver scowled and rubbed the back of his head. "Jimmy, can you—"

Jimmy held his hands up. "I'm sorry, man. I can't control her."

Chloe dropped a kiss to Jimmy's cheek. "That's right."

Oliver looked seriously at the toddler that Chloe was holding. "Travis, I hope that you turn out way cooler than both your parents."

"Aunt Chloe is the coolest!" Emma exclaimed as she ran by Oliver. She punched him in the thigh with her little fist and Oliver groaned.

"God, Lois!" he yelled. "What do you teach your kids?"

Lois simply laughed as she joined Clark by the grill. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Don't listen to Oliver," she said. "You're a great cook."

"Well, considering that I'm the only one out of all of us that can actually cook, I'd hope that at least one of you would think that." He dropped a kiss to her lips and expertly flipped a burger without looking.

"Now you're just showing off," Lois said. Her statement was punctuated with a loud crash from inside the house. They heard Chris and Emma both yell "Oops!" Oliver was the first one in the house, and Clark and Lois looked at each other.

"Do you think we should go in?" Lois asked.

Clark looked at the house before he looked back at the grill. "Nah, let Uncle Ollie handle it. He deserves it after sending home Chris and Emma hyped on sugar the last time he watched them."

Lois laughed again, and Clark bent to kiss her. He couldn't help it. He just loved to hear her laugh, and she did so freely now. No one expected Lois Lane to settle down with a husband and three children, but she had and she was perfectly happy. She still had her amazing career as a journalist, and she considered motherhood another great adventure.

"I love you," Clark murmured when he pulled away.

Lois smiled. "I love you too, Clark."

Clark tugged Lois into his side as his kids came back out of the house. He had Lois, the woman who understood him no matter what, and he had his beautiful family. What more could he ask for? Clark Kent wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**Author's Note: So I just wanted to end this story on a really good note. I wanted to show Clark and Lois having that family life with their kids, but I did want to put in that struggle with him as Superman, as well. I hope I managed to succeed. As I said before, thank you for sticking with this story. I have another**_** Smallville**_** story up my sleeve, so be on the lookout for it. Thanks!**


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